Shiotsu Autotrade Japan – President’s Blog

Ambulances and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) vehicles belong to an important specialty vehicle market.  These EMS vehicles have to meet stringent quality requirements.  Recently,  Hino Trucks has launched an ambulance chassis in response to the overwhelming demand from manufacturers and customers  in the ambulance market.  Hino trucks made a grand debut with their ambulance chassis in Indianapolis at the Conference of the Fire Department Instructors (FDIC) held there.

The Hino 2011 truck model on display at the Conference attracted a lot of attention as it is the only conventional truck of medium duty meeting the strict 2010 EPA Emissions Regulation in the United States.  It is also equipped with Hino Trucks’ 2010 compliant SCR system.  The truck with the Hino JO8E Series 8-liter diesel engine generates a horsepower of 220 with torque of 520 lb-ft.

The design of the Hino ambulance chassis and cab are optimized for highest maneuverability and to give utmost performance with its tremendous power for the most demanding of tasks in the emergency rescue and operations market.  The new Hendrickson suspension featured in the ambulance allows for an elevated height of 28” in the frame – a requirement for ambulances.

It has been Hino’s continued efforts in new applications development that has led to its progress in the production of the ambulance and emergency vehicles.  The demand and expansion of its market has taken its natural course.  The new ambulance from Hino is expected to create a big impression with its spacious cab, bump-free ride and advanced reliability.  It is a boon to the Emergency Medical Service sector.

Emergency ambulances are the transport vehicles used to provide first aid and care for patients with an injury or acute illness.  Ambulance manufacturers primarily are light trucks or full-body van makers like Nissan, Hino and Toyota.   And, there are second level of manufacturers who buy the vehicle, usually incomplete without the body, and fit it out with the bodywork, equipment for emergencies and interiors.  They then build the coach and modify the vehicle  to suit requirements of patients in an emergency or fit it out with pre-built modular box containing all the emergency equipment.

Very often the EMS personnel live in a dangerous and daunting task environment combined with a moving vehicle where they have to nurse patients in emergencies and provide life-sustaining and life-saving medical care.  Hino ambulance is geared to take on crashes with a solid exterior and prevent injury to the patients and EMS personnel because it is crashworthy and protects its occupants.  In the United States market, the Hino will make inroads testing for safety and crashworthiness.

If you are looking for new or used ambulances, emergency medical service vehicles or other specialty vehicles for patient movement – from Japan, please get in touch with your requirements; and we will find a suitable vehicle that matches your requirements.

Technorati Tags: EMS vehicles, Hino Trucks, Hino ambulance, Japan

As per a recent Hino Motors press release, Hino Motors will launch improved low pollution versions of their heavy duty truck Hino Profia and medium duty truck Hino Ranger to meet Japan’s new emission standard.  These fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly trucks would comply with JP09 – which is currently the world’s most stringent emissions standard.

Hino’s new Profia featuring an improved engine and a device that employs urea to break down nitrogen oxides in the exhaust, will hit the market in July, 2010.  Hino has significantly improved the safety performance, driver and overall performance of these heavy and medium duty trucks to be competitive in the market.  These new Japanese trucks boast more than 5% higher fuel economy.

Hino Profia covers 25 ton class trucks, whereas Hino Ranger covers 14 ton class trucks.  The domestic annual target for Hino Profia is 7,000 units whereas that for Hino Ranger is 2,000 units.  Price for the improved Hino Ranger will start from 8.8 million yen, whereas the improved Hino Profia will be priced from 17.38 million yen.  Hino employs proprietary ‘Air Loop’ technology in these trucks for cycling NOx, CO2 and PM, thus reducing fuel consumption, reducing emissions and improving profits by reducing running costs.

The new low pollution Hino Profia employs enhanced EGR system with high pressure fuel injection and Urea-SCR to reduce NOx and improve fuel economy.  The engine improvement along with new 12-shift automatic transmission leads to fuel efficient driving. It also employs new eco-run control computers which automatically suppress accelerator pedal consuming too much fuel.  The driver is informed of various parameters in a full color LCD panel to help fuel efficient driving.  The new Hino Profia also has improved vehicle stability control system to reduce damage in case of collision.  It can detect an oncoming vehicle in case of a head-on collision, give warning to the driver and apply brakes to minimize the damage. Vertical stability control reduces the risk of vehicle rollover. The interior also has a navigation monitor with rear camera and left-side view camera.

Environmental performance of the new Hino Ranger truck is improved significantly by implementing EGR system enhancements, which includes high pressure fuel injection in the engine resulting in low fuel consumption reduction of NOx.  Urea-free after treatment of NOx eliminates the need for conventional urea water tank, at the same time meeting the new emission standards.  The new eco-run control of the computer, automatically suppress fuel operation in case of rough handling of the accelerator pedal, thus enabling more fuel efficient driving.  Safety of the vehicle is improved by improving the wheel mounting system.

Technorati Tags: Japanese trucks, Hino Profia, Hino Ranger, Hino

During the Golden Week holidays this month I went to Mumbai, India on a business trip.  It was very hot in India as it was the peak of Indian summer.  However, I am happy that I survived the Indian summer for one week.

During this trip to India, I had a chance to  touch and feel the world’s lowest priced passenger car – The Nano made by Tata Car company of India.   In fact this car was launched just 2 years ago targeting the Indian small car market.  The Nano is a tiny car with the even tinier price-tag.  It retails in India for Rs. 100,000 (US$2,200) and is an economic choice to fit a family of four comfortably.

The Nano was the result of the vision of Mr. Ratan Tata, the Chairman of the Tata Motors.  When Mr.Tata envisioned this eco-friendly, people’s car with a price tag of just around US$2,200, most automakers around the world scoffed at him.  Japanese car makers like  Suzuki who had a big presence in Indian car market mocked at Tata saying that it was impossible to make a reliable car for Rs 100,000.  However, when the Nano was finally launched, car makers in Detroit and Japan took a serious note of it.   Even car makers like Ford admitted that the Nano is a groundbreaking product, and it will cause people to think differently about making small cars.

There are a number of features that make the Nano unique and affordable.  The car is 10 feet long, 5 feet wide – about 8% smaller bumper to bumper, than the Maruti 800 (Indian version of Suzuki Alto),  but nevertheless it has 20 % larger interior space and can sit four people comfortably.  The Nano gets 20 km/ liter in city and 26 km/ liter on highways, making it the most fuel efficient car in India.  It has a four-speed manual gearshift, and 30-liter fuel tank. The car is equipped with air conditioner, but does not have power steering.

Though the Tata Nano has a price tag of just around $2,200, it has a steel frame, sheet metal body and safety glass like most other expensive cars.  It has a rear mounted 624 CC engine and the emissions exceed regulatory requirements.

I was happy to see the cheapest car in the world. I liked the design of the car. For sure, it looks quite Jazzy.  However, I am not sure about the safety of the vehicle.  I felt the steel sheet was little thinner than that of most other small cars.  Before Tata starts exporting Nano to other countries, they would have to meet the European and American safety standards.

International car makers are now getting ready to compete with Tata Nano in the ultra cheap small car market.  Nissan and Renault has teamed up with Indian auto maker Bajaj with a plan to make a  common people’s car that will cost $2500 in India.  Nissan and Bajaj aim to provide a fuel economy of 30 km/liter compared to 23 km/liter provided by Tatas Nano. This would surely create a fierce competition in the small car segment.

Technorati Tags: Japanese car, Indian car market, Tata Nano, cheapest car, Nissan, small car