Shiotsu Autotrade Japan – President’s Blog

Mitsubishi Fuso unveils new Super Great Dump Truck

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers is expanding its Japan product line by adding the new Super Great Dump Truck to its series of already existing vehicles. The Super Great Dump Truck will be available at all Mitsubishi Fuso dealer locations in Japan, from October 6, 2011.  The new generation heavy duty Super Great dump truck from Mitsubishi launched comes with specifications that promises high fuel efficiency at highway speeds.

Mitsubishi Fuso Super Great Dump Truck Specifications

The new Super Great Dump Truck not only complies with the stringent JP09 Emission Regulations (Japan’s Post New Long Term Emission Regulations), it also meets Japan’s 2015 FES standard for heavy duty trucks and other commercial vehicles.  It is a 2015 Fuel Efficiency Standard (FES) compliant dump truck. To keep a check on the emissions, it has incorporated a BlueTec Emission Reduction System. This works in combination with a 12.8 liter heavy duty Fuel Efficient Engine 6R10 helps reduce the ownership cost of the vehicle. The BlueTec Emission Reduction System works along with the Urea Selective Catalytic Reduction system (SCR) & Regeneration Controlled Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF).  The vehicle can be driven powerfully because of its seven speed manual transmission.

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC) is one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. In 2010 it sold around 140,700 vehicles which included heavy, medium and light duty buses and trucks. MFTBC is an integral part of the Daimler Trucks Division of Daimler AG. It has added to its Japanese product line by introducing the Super Great Dump Truck to its existing line of products. The Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC) is based in Kawasaki, Japan.

Japan sets new Auto fuel efficiency standards

Just recently, a draft of a proposal specifying the fuel efficiency targets that automakers would have to meet for each type of motor by the fiscal 2020 was released by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.  As per the new standards, the average efficiency of fleets would be required to improve by around 24% from the current fuel efficiency standard of 16.3 km / liter of fuel to 20.3 km / liter in 2020. However, plug in hybrids and electric cars will be excluded from meeting the new targets, and manufacturers will be required to deliver efficiency improvements only in conventional vehicles.

The new Japanese proposal is along the lines of the recently introduced US Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules that expect auto manufacturers to work towards meeting the new average fleet efficiency standard of 54.5 miles /gallon from the present 27 miles / gallon, by 2025.  That is, manufacturers may continue to make cars that are less efficient provided that they invest in improving the current efficiency of their other models.

The new efficiency standards are being introduced in order to force a significant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and encourage the auto industry to put in vigorous efforts towards developing new and more improved designs.

According to a Japanese ministry official, if approved, the new proposals for fuel economy standards could come into force from around next Spring.  The EU and China had introduced efficiency standards some time back.  Last month, they were joined by the US.  The recent move makes Japan the latest country to decide on adopting strict fuel efficiency standards. Read the rest of this entry »

Why are Japanese Cars so reliable?

The two words quality and reliability are synonymous with Japanese cars.  Japanese cars are very popular all over the world as they are super efficient and deliver all that they promise.  Japanese cars are the most preferred cars not only in the Japanese market but also  in the overseas markets.  Japanese cars have proved to be more reliable than most European or American cars. The continent of Europe and the United States of America is flooded with Japanese cars.  This has also led to setting up of huge car manufacturing plants in overseas countries by leading Japanese car makers.  Off the ten most reliable cars in the world, seven are Japanese cars.

Japanese Car Makers – Customer Orientation

Let us find out why Japanese cars score over most other cars in reliability and performance.  Customer satisfaction is the main motto of the Japanese car makers and this drives them to manufacture high quality reliable cars.  The corporate setup of the Japanese car manufacturing companies is designed to help and serve the customers.  Right from the worker in the production floor to the director in the board room, everyone is customer oriented.  If the customer has a minor issue with the car, it is not unusual for the CEO of the company himself to go and visit the customer.  This clearly shows that even the smallest issue is taken very seriously and the car company genuinely cares.

Japanese people  in general are open to criticism and willing to improve upon their shortcomings.  Japanese analyze their mistakes and immediately rectify them.  It is this approach that makes them stand apart.  Other countries in the world are also trying to produce reliable cars but are not willing to take up any criticism.

Japanese Auto Makers commitment to R&D

Leading Japanese car makers such as Toyota and Nissan spend huge amounts of money on constantly upgrading their technology.  The huge money spent on research and development helps these car makers to innovate and produce super efficient cars.  Even the workforce is quality conscious.  The factories and car plants are run in an efficient and disciplined manner.  The reporting structures in these companies are well chalked out with the superiors giving clear and precise instructions.  The workers also know their job thoroughly and continuously strive for perfection.

The suppliers of automobile spare parts and components are located near the factories and whenever there is a shortage in the supply of parts, the suppliers immediately deliver them to the car manufacturer.  In other words, very little time is wasted in transportation.  This also shows that the Japanese car makers have an efficient supply chain management. Read the rest of this entry »

Need for sound alerts  for Electric and Hybrid Cars

The introduction of hybrid and electric cars have greatly reduced the sound and air pollution in the atmosphere.  While this has greatly helped in many aspects, it has also posed certain problems.  Basically, these cars do not make any noise when they run.  This is causing plenty of problems to all the pedestrians walking on the roads and the blind people dread these cars.  The blind people are not able to hear the sound of the car till the very last moment.  This has also resulted in some serious injuries and accidents.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration of US (NHTSA) and the associations for blind people have raised their voice against the hybrid and electric cars.

Electric cars to modify design

The manufacturers of the electric cars have been asked by the US safety regulations to redesign their cars.  The car manufacturers have been asked to equip the electric car with sound alerting or automatic warning systems as the car comes near a pedestrian.  All leading car manufacturers like Nissan, Toyota and General Motors will have to equip their car with sensor devices to warn the pedestrians.

Nissan Electric Cars – Leaf

The new electric car models Leaf from Nissan has been equipped with sound alert systems.  These sound alerts will only work when the driver initiates some action. This sound will be heard when the turn signal lever is operated by the driver.

Toyota Hybrid electric Cars

Toyota is the world’s largest manufacturer of hybrid electric automobiles.  In its new and forthcoming Prius V Wagon, it has decided to install an audible alert which can be heard by the pedestrians.  This is possible when the car runs on battery power or low speed.

A common standard to be set up for electric and hybrid cars

The basic idea is to create a standard for all the electric and hybrid cars to be equipped with sound alerts. These would work in certain conditions when the vehicle is running thereby alerting the blind people and pedestrians.  The sounds alerts would help in finding the location, direction and presence of the vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations are applicable to all automobiles like motorcycles, trucks, buses and cars whether they are hybrid or electric.  It has been proposed that all these rules and regulations would be effective from Jan 4, 2014.  Definitely, NHTSA is working very hard to implement the sound alert systems.  NHTSA has also clearly stated that vehicles of similar model and make must have similar sound alert systems.

All these steps are being taken to ensure that the blind people and pedestrians at large can walk safely on the roads.  The leading car makers on their part are also doing their best by introducing their new hybrid and electric cars with sound alert systems as laid down in the regulations.  It is very likely that other countries will follow this move and implement similar regulations for hybrid and electric cars.

New Zealand to have stricter Exhaust Emission Standards in 2012

We have many customers in New Zealand who regularly import used Japanese cars and trucks from us, on a regular basis.  Many of them also visit us here in Osaka and participate in used auto auctions here.  They are very happy with the quality of the Japanese used vehicles they purchase from us.  However, the new exhaust emission rules which will go in effect by the end of this year will certainly affect the exports of used Japanese automobiles to New Zealand to a large extent.

How new Emission rules will affect import of Japanese used cars in to New Zealand?

New Zealand is planning to implement stricter exhaust emission rules for all vehicles – new and used – that will be imported in to New Zealand. These revised regulations for the exhaust emission will come in effect from Jan 1, 2012.  This is going to cause great worries to the used car importers in New Zealand, as it would reduce the number of imports by half, as it is required that the used cars imported should not be older than ten years.  The Japan 2005 emission standards will be applied to these cars.

All the used and new cars imported in to New Zealand will need to comply with the tight  emission standards according to the Exhaust Emission rules updates.  The used vehicles would also be thoroughly tested in Japan before importing into New Zealand.  The revised rule that would be introduced compels all the used cars to follow the minimum standard emissions.  A testing procedure has also been introduced to curb the emissions from imported used vehicles and see to it that they do not exceed  the stated limits.

Till now, the minimum emissions standard did not apply to all the imported used vehicles which were designed and brought out before Jan 1,2004.  The only condition was that the vehicles should have adhered to standard and recognized emission standards during the year of their manufacture.

Since 1998, motor vehicle traders of NZ lost a good 15% of the first time used imports market due to the the strict emission rules and regulations passed each year .

The toughening of the testing requirements and emission standards in Japan in 2005 has posed plenty of problems for the importers.  All the cars lined up for importing should be checked in Japan and should receive the certificate of their adhering to the regulations laid down in 2005.

All the new regulations will encourage the drivers in New Zealand to use their old cars and thereby allowing the prices of used cars to go high. This will diminish  the import of used cars.

The Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (IMVIA) in New Zealand claims that the number of used cars will greatly fall to 45,000 and 60,000 units from 95,000 and 110,000 used vehicles in 2011 if the strict rules are brought in to force.  Definitely, the car owners will have to shell out more for imported used cars.  It will not be possible to import Japaneses cars manufactured before 2005 due to the changes in rules and regulations.

The New Zealanders will have to pay thousands of dollars more for the used cars as the new guidelines  will greatly prevent the supply of used cars.  Coupled with the devastating Tsunami which hit Japan, the imports of cars has greatly reduced.  It definitely is a grim situation according to the importers of used cars in New Zealand.

So, if you are a used car importer based in New Zealand, please be aware of these regulations which would be in effect by the end of this year.  We, therefore, advise our customers in New Zealand to hurry and import vehicles they desire much before these new emission standards get implemented.

Japanese Automakers Juggle Work Days

The tsunami and earthquake which shook Fukushima is also affecting the Japanese industry and causing plenty of misery. The car industry which is the lifeline of Japan is also greatly affected. The supply of electricity across Japan has also been greatly affected and this is affecting the production of cars. It has been unanimously decided by the Japanese car industry that there would be no work on Thursdays and Fridays in the following month and all the work would be shifted to weekends. This makes great sense as it would definitely ease the burden on the electricity providers of Japan.

As plenty of other industries would not be working during the weekends, supply of electricity can be transferred to the car manufacturing industries. This definitely comes as a welcome move as the economy is really down. You would be surprised to know that Japan boasts of a good fifty six nuclear plants. But due to the havoc caused by the tsunami and earthquake, only seventeen nuclear plants are working. It is estimated that another twelve nuclear plants would be shut altogether due to protests from local groups.

The government is also under increasing pressure from the Japanese industry to rebuild the coastal areas along the eastern region which suffered greatly due to the natural calamities. In fact, there are also talks about the entire Japanese industry working during weekends in order to prevent the power supply from completely going down during peak hours. In order to cut down the demand for electricity, the office buildings in Japan have decided to switch off the corridor lights. The number of lifts has also been reduced and the settings and specifications of the air conditioners have been greatly modified.

You would be amazed to note that the workers are also contributing for this great cause. They have been asked to wear casual clothes which would include sneakers, cotton pants that are light and tropical shirts that can be worn without being tucked. The workers have been asked to avoid ties and dark suits that are formal. The giant auto makers of Japan employ a good ten thousand workers and all these wonderful moves towards conservation of electricity would definitely help them to get back to one hundred percent production.

Europe and USA have placed large orders with the Japanese car companies Read the rest of this entry »

Nissan develops roadside service vehicle with a charging system

The consequences of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan earlier this year started showing its effects worldwide. To combat the huge shortage of power, the Japanese have voluntarily started saving power through as many means as possible with a motive to save the future of the nation. Electric vehicles such as Nissan Leaf gain a huge popularity in this power saving era due to their power saving initiative. However, there are chances that at times that the car may get stranded on the road due to a fall in the vehicle’s battery which happens as a result of incomplete charging.

But now, the drivers of Nissan Leaf will not have to face any such occurrence of dead batteries as a rescue team will come to save them from the disaster. A five-tonne diesel truck recharged by a high-powered diesel generator will be used to rescue the Nissan electric cars that runs out of juice in Japan. The stuck Leaf is plug into the EV Rescue Vehicle for a 20-minute charge, which suffices for about 40km. Consumer research demonstrates that this range satisfies the daily driving requirements of more than 70% of the world’s consumers who drive cars.

Nissan LEAF is a critical first step in establishing the era of zero-emission mobility. Running the cars on the themes of saving energy has been one such benchmark initiative by the Japanese automakers in the zero emission eras.

Electric vehicles runs on natural resources and thereby saves the future while protecting the environment. Electric car machine requires fewer parts for car mechanism, less economic structure, and most importantly is cheaper than available fuel powered cars. Most impressive feature of electric cars is that it lowers down the air and noise pollution ratio.

However, since the electric vehicles do not give a long range, many consumers hesitate to opt for it. To travel long distance in these electric cars, a good number of infrastructures for recharging the batteries throughout the country is required.  The EV rescue vehicle by Nissan will turn a great savior in case your car gets stranded at the middle of your journey.

According to news sources, the rescue truck has been called out 86 times in less than a year, with 73 of those to recharge a drained battery. The program is currently running on a trial basis in Nissan’s home of Kanagawa, south of Tokyo, till the end of this year. It will prove useful in both improving Nissan’s after sales service and reducing the anxiety of range among the users.

While zero-emission is the ultimate goal, Nissan is committed to continue developing innovating eco-friendly technologies that increase efficiency and reduce emissions.  More and more consumers seem to be interested in opting for electric cars as this seems to be a great initiative in the wake of the energy shortages the world is facing.

Toyota to set up social networking service

Toyota is about to launch a social networking service in collaboration with Microsoft and U.S internet company.  This service will make an interaction possible between the drivers and their cars on the similar lines of Twitter and Facebook.   Toyota Motor Corp, the Japanese automaker and San Francisco based Salesforce.com recently announced their coalition to launch Toyota Friend.  This new feature is exclusively for the owners of Toyota and will act as a mode of communication connecting the customers with the other users, manufacturers, vehicles and dealers.

Private chatter software by salesforce.com will be the base of the social networking system of ‘Toyota Friend’ and will enable users not only to connect with other users but also with several discussion groups.  Toyota’s built-in telematics system will be connected with Microsoft by the software with devices like smartphones and tablet PCs.  Incidentally there are already quite a lot of cars in the market which have network –linking competencies and navigation systems and acts perfectly as any other hi-tech device such as a Blackberry or perhaps an iPhone.

Now, since the software will be able to connect to other networks like Twitter and Facebook, a user can also follow the vehicle on these sites as well apart from the ‘Toyota Friend’ network.  Several hi-tech features will be included in the system like for suppose when the car is running out of power, the user may be informed by the vehicle, or a recommendation is also possible by the car when the user might have the privilege of enjoying off-peak consumption of power.  Also, if the car is due for an inspection, an interaction can surely happen between the vehicles and the dealer and also shall be notified to the user.  These kind of next-gen cars require to be recharged often and hence their users should be continually updated about their status such their level of battery and nearby charging locations.

All the chats between the user-vehicle-dealer can be discreet from exposure or can also be exchanged between other users, or even be updated on other social sites.  The car’s in-built sensors will regulate the dialogues of the car.  The service built on open-source cloud platforms, a specialty of both Microsoft and salesforce.com, will hit Japan in 2012, but will be offered at later stage worldwide.  An amount of $5.5 million, $4 million and $2.8 million will be expended by Toyota, Microsoft and Sales force respectively.

This new updated network feature could assist Toyota to check quality issues and track changes in the market in a faster manner.  A declining number of sales in automobiles might be addressed due to the initiation of social networks and communication between machines.  This change can act as catalyst for vehicles to progress faster and change the mind of young who are less persuaded to buy cars.  In addition to all these, the service will also be useful in keeping the user updated with the new utilities and features in their cars by keeping them linked with the manufacturer and dealer.

Technorati Tags: Toyota, Toyota Friend

SIM-LEI Electric Car gets 300 km – double the range of Nissan Leaf

Nowadays several projects are underway for developing new designs for electric cars.  Japanese car designers too have been busy creating new designs mainly focusing on increasing the range of electric cars.

Japanese car enthusiasts were recently treated to an exciting glimpse of the car of the future when the one such well-known electric car designer SIM-Drive unveiled their latest electric car – the SIM-LEI – which they claim can do over 300 km on a single charge before the battery runs out.  According to AFP reports, this electric car has more than double the range of Nissan’s recently released electric car – Nissan Leaf.

Officials of SIM-Drive said they plan to make the car available in the market by 2013, though they did not provide any information about the projected price.  They said that they expect to sell the prototype to leading car makers for mass production of the vehicle and that they are hopeful that Mitsubishi Motors will show an interest since they had partly funded the project.

Currently, despite being eco-friendly, the electric cars are not catching on very fast as they have to face several hurdles.  The main disadvantages of electric cars include the high cost of the batteries, and their shorter range as compared to petrol cars. Also, the low availability of charging points is adding to their low popularity.  The lack of conveniently available recharging stations for charging up these vehicles further limits their operating radius.

But according to SIM-Drive, the SIM-LEI could provide a solution to many of such problems currently faced by electric cars.  The SIM-LEI is a four-passenger vehicle, has motors inside each of the wheels, and an ultra-light frame, besides the capacity for providing around 330km of motoring before the battery will have to be recharged.  This last feature has caught the interest of motoring enthusiasts and will surely prove to be a huge advantage in favor of the SIM-LEI.

Nissan and other electric car manufacturers are confident that electric automobiles with zero tailpipe emissions will prove to be the future of the auto industry, and that their popularity will ultimately lead to the end of gas-run vehicles.  The move to electric cars will definitely reduce the harmful effects on the environment caused by auto-emissions at present.

Recently, BBC reported that now a new type of noise is being developed for electric cars for alerting pedestrians about their presence on the road thus reducing the risk of accidents.

Technorati Tags: Japanese car, electric cars, SIM-LEI, Nissan Leaf

Shortage of Japanese Used Cars expected in the near future

As an aftereffect of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, prices for used cars from Japan are expected to increase later this year.  Right after the earthquake and tsunami in March, used car importers took benefit from a decline in demand for second-hand vehicles in Japan.  In April, 50% more used cars were exported from Japan, compared to previous month.

Nevertheless, brought on by the earthquake to car production throughout Japan suggests that Japanese owners are going to keep their cars for longer.  This will affect the availability of used cars in the used car market in Japan and thus leading to a short supply of used cars available for export too.  Thus, as a result of the disruption caused by the March ’11 earthquake, it is expected that there would be about 10% decrease in export of used cars for from Japan.

As per auto industry analysts, prices of used car are rising worldwide at an alarming rate.  Due to the recent tsunami in Japan, thousands of cars were washed away. Many Japanese people lost their homes and jobs.  Therefore, many Japanese are also bidding along with foreigners for buying used cars in auctions, as they cannot afford new cars now.

There are various reasons for this biggest shortage of used cars in last twenty years.  Everything from recession to earthquake and tsunami has contributed to this shortage of cars.  The decrease in used car supply and increasing demand for used cars has caused the tremendous rise in prices of Japanese used cars.  The effect of the the natural calamities and nuclear disasters in Japan will be felt till the end of September.  It may lead to still higher prices of new and used cars.

Typically, 70% of car purchases in Japan would be for new cars, thus a large percentage of used car are normally available in the market.  However, the current condition is such that the Japanese in quake-stricken areas are rushing to buy vehicles as means of temporary transportation for 500,000 yen or less.  Because of this sudden surge in demand, currently used cars in Japan are selling at very high prices.  On the other hand many other people in Japan have postponed the new car purchase and as a result few used cars are available in used car auctions.  This shortage of used cars is thus causing further rise of used cars prices in Japanese market.

Japanese used car prices going up

Used cars prices, particularly of fuel-efficient and small car models, have dramatically risen.  The reason behind this is not only shortage of used cars for sale but it also attributes to the shortage of new cars in the Japanese domestic market.  The Japanese automakers are struggling to restart the production of new cars.  The automobile plants that are currently working in Japan have reduced the production capacity to a large extent.  The reduction in new car production is also affecting the used-car prices and the prices of used car are probably will be higher in the next few months.  The rise in fuel cost since January is also responsible for the increase in prices of fuel-efficient cars like compacts, subcompacts and hybrids.

Although there is tremendous increase in used car prices, it will be still profitable to buy used cars than buying a new car.  It is expected that the market for new car in Japan will rebound from the disasters very soon.  This may ultimately soften the market of used cars.  However, you will have to wait till October to get a nice deal.

In the meantime, we at Shiotsu Autotrade are trying our best to satisfy the needs of our customers world-wide.