Shiotsu Autotrade Japan – President’s Blog

UD Trucks – formerly Nissan Diesel Motor Co., is in the process of preparing to launch the heavy duty Quon truck in a redesigned version, and another new truck falling in the Condor series class of medium-duty eight-ton weight category to comply with the new, stringent JP09 emission standards for large trucks.

The latest updated avatar of the Quon is expected to have an 11-liter engine under its hood on the basis of the platform of the Volvo Group.  The new truck in the Condor series is expected to be introduced with a medium duty GH7 engine for power.

As per the UD Trucks press release, both these new engines release lower emissions in combination of lower consumption and meet the current emission criteria in both Japan and North America.  The new JP09 environmental regulations in Japan apply to diesel vehicles, proposes reductions of at least 60% in emissions of nitrogen oxides and other matter for large trucks.

UD Trucks have stated that the new engines utilize SCR (selective catalytic reduction) technology which reduces emissions, advances fuel economy and also greatly improves driving performance.  Nissan UD Trucks have been leading in the deployment of SCR technology – a specialized know-how used in the exhaust gases conversion. Volvo truck group widely uses this technology in its production.

In Japan, the new Quon’s launch is anticipated to take place in April of 2010.  The Condor will be launched in Japan in the middle of year 2010 and end 2010 in the US.  The Ageo plant of UD Trucks in Japan will produce the new medium-duty engine along with the Quon and the Condor.

One of the premier leading producers of buses, trucks, equipment related to construction and marine drive systems, applications for industrial use, components for aerospace and related services, the Volvo Group has carved a niche for itself in heavy duty vehicles.

The new Quon and Condor Series trucks are among the first new trucks from Nissan UD Japan, since Volvo started investing in UD Trucks 3 years ago.  The new UD truck prices would start from 17.2 million Japanese yen.

Technorati Tags: Quon truck, UD Trucks, Nissan UD Trucks, Volvo truck, Condor Series trucks

A brand new generation of the Mitsubishi Fuso Super Great heavy duty trucks is the latest among super great trucks launched in Japan by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC).  The heavy duty truck features BlueTec technology in its 12.8-liter 6R10 engine and is the first among its genre to be JP09 emissions compliant – considered the most rigid among emission standards in the world.   Manufactured at the Mannheim engine plant, the engine is now being used in Japan.

The JP09 (Japan New Long-Term Emission Regulation) enforces a reduction of 65 percent of nitrogen oxide levels and a reduction of 63 percent of particulate matter levels in comparison with JP05 – the previous regulation.   The Kawasaki plant of Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks has already commenced production  of the new Fuso Super Great and sales at all the Mitsubishi Fuso dealers in Japan have already received the first batch of orders.

At a press release, Mr. Albert Kirchmann, President and CEO of MFTBC stated that

The new Fuso Super Great with its all-new fuel-efficient 6R10 engine and advanced BlueTec emissions control system shows that heavy-duty trucks can be environmentally friendly, optimized for safety, and also highly cost-effective.

Aimed to meet the needs of customers on the Japanese auto market, the environmentally friendly engine gives an output of 257 kW (350 hp) and 309 kW (420 hp).

It is reassuring for customers to know that MFTBC is a fundamental part of Daimler Trucks – which has units in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. – because the modular commercial vehicle system from the New Engine Generation division of Daimler Trucks’ with its BluTec technology has been defined for all brands and are being used worldwide.  World-class components like the new Fuso 6R10 engine have been developed having a very high degree of effectiveness.  The BlueTec system for exhaust gas is incorporated in all the engines of the New Engine Generation and helps drastically reduce the CO2, nitrogen, and particulate emissions while simultaneously reaching high fuel efficiency.

There is a range of other equipment characteristics offered in the new Fuso Super Great like the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) or the Active Mitigation Brake (AMB), which decelerates the vehicle by automatically applying the brake when there is a possibility of a collision happening, and a system that warns the driver of critical situations called the Mitsubishi Driver Attention Monitoring System.

First introduced in 1996, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck’s Super Great  with a gross vehicle weight of 16 tons to 25 tons has been improvised upon over several generations.  It was in 2007 that the last new generation of the Super Great was launched before the introduction of the latest launch.

Mitsubishi Fuso is revolutionizing the  Heavy Duty Japanese Trucks market. The launch of the new Fuso Super Great is expected to introduce at least 25 key vehicle additions around the world by the end of 2010.?

Technorati Tags: Japan, Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks, Mitsubishi Fuso, Japanese auto market, Japanese Trucks

The Japanese truck maker – Mitsubishi Fuso – is a leader in designing fuel efficient, durable medium duty and heavy duty trucks and commercial vehicles.  Mitsubishi Fuso invests lot in R&D to develop low pollution diesel engines.  As per recent news, Mitsubishi Fuso in collaboration with German manufacturer Daimler AG and U.S. spares producer Detroit Diesel Corp.,  has developed a large diesel engine with low gas emissions to help fight pollution.

It costs US$1.5 billion for developing the new engine and it is primarily created for all new models of heavy-duty commercial big trucks and dump trucks with large engines produced by Mitsubishi Fuso.  The new engine has been heralded as the premier engine upgrade in a decade from a Japanese truck manufacturer.

The other two companies – Daimler and Daimler Truck North America LLC, previously Freightliner, will help in cost cutting along with Mitsubishi Fuso by sharing 90 percent of the parts and put the 10 percent of the remaining parts to meet the market needs by specifications.

This initiative was taken by Mitsubishi Fuso to be in line with the fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles, laid down by the Japanese government which came into effect in 2006.  Japan estimates to improve the fuel efficiency up to 12% on the whole, by 2015.

Mitsubishi Fuso was one of the first automobile manufacturers to recognize the view of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that the basic cause of global warming is the utilization of fossil fuels.  It felt that the best way to deal with the challenge was to introduce fuel economy by reducing the usage of fossil fuel at every step of an automobile’s life cycle.

With the introduction of the new low pollution engine, Mitsubishi Fuso hopes to interest customers in the demand for domestic trucks.  The new engine has the propensity to completely remove nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas by using a urea solution in the system.  This reduces emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxide by over 60 per cent.

Mitsubishi Fuso trucks have displayed remarkable fuel efficiency and durability with their direct-injection diesel engines. These engines have proved to reduce emissions with the introduction of the computer controlled, common-rail system of fuel injection, along with heightened vehicle performance.  The system works by letting fuel to be injected at elevated force regardless of the speed of the engine, increasing the fuel and air mix, thus curbing the exhaust fumes and reducing emissions of particulate matter.

Intercoolers and turbochargers are engaged in the vehicle to reducing the temperature of turbocharger pressurised air, increasing air density, lowering combustion temperature and exhaust release, thus increasing fuel efficiency.

Technorati Tags: Japanese truck, Mitsubishi Fuso, fuel efficiency, Japanese, Japan

Despite the fact that Toyota was hit  with global safety recalls at a mass level,  it has managed to jump up its sales in Japan by 50.7 percent compared to March last year, as per the latest auto industry news.  All Industry ears are ringing with these amazing facts.

The Japanese Car Maker – Toyota has managed to sell 204,515 vehicles in the last financial year in Japan, as compared to 135,700 previous year.  The Lexus brand car sales has nearly tripled selling 4,919 units.  The rise is being attributes to orders for the Prius, popular electric hybrid car.  This is because the March figure  also includes orders received before the recall.  Toyota’s sales figures for Japan doe not include subsidiaries such as Daihatsu and Hino Motors.

The sales figure of the automaker is in line with the fact there was also recovery at a broader level in the auto industry which witnessed sales of new trucks, buses and cars increase by a figure of 37.2 percent compared to last financial year, helped by tax incentives and government subsidiaries.

In the United States too, the figures of Toyota Motor Sales shows 35.3 percent increase from last year with a sale of upto  186,863 units on ‘daily selling rate’ basis.  On raw volume sale basis TMS sales are up by 40.7 percent.

Toyota Division reported 35.1% increase with 166,644 automobiles sold  on ‘daily selling rate’ basis.  Raw volume basis showed a sales increase by 40.6 percent form March last year.  March also saw the Lexus brand selling 20,219 units.  This implies 36.5 percent on DSR and 42 percent volume wise!

Earlier this year Toyota pulled back 8.5 million cars worldwide out of which 6 million were in the United States alone.  The vehicles had problems with unintended acceleration and sticky gas pedals. These problems have been attributed  for the death of 58 people in the US.  The recall was subsequent to 3 recent congressional hearings.

After media criticism of its recall crisis, Toyota allowed overseas and Japanese journalists access to its central Japan headquarters to view Toyota’s quality control facility.

Incentives offered by Toyota such as free maintenance for 2 years, low priced leasing and zero percent financing helped in luring customers back.  This was for recalled vehicles which include the Camrys, Corollas and Avalons.  Added to the incentives was pent up demands of buyer who did not shop for cars due to the economic downturn last year.

The strong sales performance shows the confidence of customers and the trust of the people in Toyota.

Technorati Tags: Toyota, Japanese Car, Japan, Prius, Hino Motors