Shiotsu Autotrade Japan – President’s Blog

Popularity of Isuzu and Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks in Malaysia and Philippines

Southeast Asian countries are one of the fastest growing markets for trucks and commercial vehicles, as these countries are recovering after the economic crisis of 1997.  Japanese Trucks, especially Mitsubishi Fuso and Isuzu trucks are enjoying considerable popularity in terms of sales growth in the Philippines as well as in Malaysia.  Currently the local commercial vehicle market in these countries is dominated by Japanese trucks such as Isuzu, Hino and Daihatsu.

Mitsubishi FUSO Trucks started operations in Malaysia in 2005.  They have an assembly plant in the city of Pekan, which can assemble up to 8 different truck models to satisfy the market needs in Malaysia.  Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks also sell their light-duty Fuso Canter trucks in Malaysia and the Philippines.  Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has the sales networks for selling the Fuso Canter trucks in Malaysia and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines is responsible for distributing Fuso Canter trucks in the Philippines. There is a steady growth and recovery in truck sales in Malaysia reported by Mitsubishi Trucks.  The turnover of Fuso trucks in Southeast Asia has increased by 49.1% in the last year.

In Malaysia – Malaysian Truck & Bus Sendirian Berhad (MTB) – manufacturers Isuzu Trucks and commercial vehicles.  These trucks are sold under Isuzu brand for F-series and HICOM brand for N-series, by the local auto dealers. As of today, Isuzu manufactures the Isuzu D-Max pickup trucks, F-series (Isuzu Forward in Japan) trucks, N-series (Isuzu Elf in Japan) trucks from KD kits.

Japanese used trucks for Philippines and Malaysia

In countries like Malaysia and Philippines there is a good market for rebuilt commercial vehicles, as these are priced 50% or cheaper than the new models.  There are many small auto companies operating in these countries that import damaged vehicles, refurbished parts and rebuild the vehicles.  However, these refurbished vehicles have to comply with strict quality standards set by the governments of these countries.  Also, rebuilding commercial trucks can take up to 5 months, and can affect the cost, quality, safety and availability of these refurbished trucks.  So, we do not advise our customers to buy these rebuilt trucks.

We have many satisfied customers from Malaysia and Philippines who have purchased used Japanese trucks from us.  Our customers are very happy with the reliability, durability and the performance of the trucks we export.  And should a need arise, we will also supply the necessary parts for the trucks.  We have the experience of dealing with various authorities to make export of Japanese used trucks to these countries a smooth affair.  If you have any queries related to importing Japanese used trucks into Malaysia or Philippines, please feel free to write to us.

Technorati Tags: Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks, Malaysia, Philippines, used Japanese trucks, Japanese used trucks

Eco Car World Expo event was recently held in Aka-Renga Red Brick Warehouse Park, Yokohama, Japan, Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks exhibited their two new low pollution and eco friendly vehicles – the new ‘Canter Eco Hybrid’ light duty truck, and the ‘Super Great’ heavy duty truck in this International event.  Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks had just launched their new Super Great heavy duty truck with environment friendly low emission engine in April 2010.  Both these vehicles meet the JP09 – Japan’s New Long-Term Emission Regulation – the world’s most stringent regulation for emission control.

Over 70 companies including major automakers in Japan exhibited/demonstrated their environment friendly technologies  and over 100 low emission vehicles including Electric Vehicles and Vehicles powered by fuel cells, in this event held in Yokohama.  I had a chance to visit this event and I could see many families with children visiting this event.  Visitors were allowed to sit in the driver’s cabin and enjoy the comfort offered by these new vehicles.

The new ‘Super Great’ heavy-duty truck represents a major leap forward for heavy-duty truck industry in Japan.  It’s all new 6R10 heavy-duty engine and advanced BlueTec(R) emissions control system offers excellent fuel efficiency with significant progress in environmental performance.   The new Super Great truck is environmentally-friendly, designed for safety and also highly cost-effective in operation.  The new Super Great uses an electronically-controlled light-weight 12-speed mechanical automatic transmission – INOMAT-II, for improving the fuel economy further.  Due to these combined efforts for increasing the fuel efficiency, 87% of the Super Great series trucks meet Japan’s 2015 fuel efficiency standard, and thus qualify for Eco-car Tax incentives in Japan.

The new ‘Canter Eco Hybrid’ medium duty commercial truck from Mitsubishi Fuso employs an ultra-compact electric motor powered by advanced lithium-ion batteries, and a compact, clean-burning diesel engine in a drive train having highly efficient automated mechanical transmission.  ‘Canter Eco Hybrid’ offers over 30% better fuel economy with significantly reduced pollution compared to its standard diesel model.  Canter Eco Hybrid has been sold domestically in Japan as well as in other countries such as Australia, Hong Kong and England.

If you are looking for the new Super Great and Canter Eco Hybrids, or used Super Great and Diesel version of Canter trucks, please get in touch with us with your requirements.

Technorati Tags: Mitsubishi Fuso, Fuso Trucks, heavy duty truck, Electric Vehicles, Super Great truck, Canter Eco Hybrid

Remarkable Sales of Toyota and Honda Hybrid Cars

For over a year, the Toyota Prius has been leading the sales in hybrid cars in Japan.  Ever since its launch, the Toyota Prius has maintained the position of being the top seller in Japan.  Honda insight is another popular hybrid car from Japan. This year alone, sales of hybrid cars in the first couple of months reached upto 72,191 units.  And it has even beaten hybrid car sales in the U.S. by more than double.

The remarkable sales of hybrid cars in Japan have been attributed to Japanese customers becoming aware of saving the environment and moving towards eco-friendly hybrid cars.  It is significant that though fossil fuel is available cheaply in the U.S. and without added gas tax as is done around the world, the buyers are slowly opting for hybrids.  It is just a matter of time before sales of hybrids would reach higher.

United States gets Honda hybrid cars and Toyota hybrid cars imported from Japan on a large scale;  however, the Japanese car manufacturers like Honda and Toyota are selling far more hybrid gas-electric cars in Japan itself.

The new Honda Insight and Toyota Prius have taken the Japanese automobile market by storm.  More than double the monthly sales target was achieved by the sale of the Insight in Japan, in April 2010.  With the introduction of the third-generation Prius, there has been a rise of nearly 20 percent in the sales orders received by Toyota, half of which are for the new Prius.

It is now fairly understood that the hybrid car market in Japan is keenly competing with the U.S. market, in spite of the fact that the American vehicle market is double the size as that of Japan.  It is estimated that domestic sales in Japan this year are expected to rise in leaps and bounds with the fierce battle on between the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight.

Automakers around the world are facing the test of global commitment towards eco-friendliness of vehicles.  The rise of global hybrid sales and specifically in Japan has spurred the government to offering subsidies to automakers to increase auto sales and move auto buyers towards buying more eco-friendly vehicles.  The Japanese government has a budget of $4 billion to make this a success, by offering incentives to customers who buy green cars.  Likewise, the United States government too is debating on offering incentives to vehicle manufacturers to motivating them into produce green cars.

It is felt that consumers in Japan favor the hybrid cars due to the fact that gas taxes are heavier in comparison with the U.S. taxes at the pump.

To hold the cutting edge in the auto market, both Honda and Toyota have become even more committed towards manufacturing hybrid cars in greater numbers to reduce their economies of scale. U.S. automakers are hoping to get back their footing into leading the manufacture of more eco-friendly and fuel efficient cars.

If you are interested in buying new or used Toyota or Honda hybrid cars, please get in touch with us with your requirements.  We have many Honda and Toyota hybrids in our stock and can find a suitable match for you.

Technorati Tags: Japan, hybrid cars, Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, fuel efficient cars