German automaker, Daimler AG, is planning to roll out FUSO trucks in India through their Indian subsidiary to meet the growing demand of trucks in export markets of Asia and Africa. This decision is a major aspect of company’s strategy for Asian and African truck markets.  FUSO is a part of Mitsubishi FUSO Truck & Bus Corporation’s line-up manufactured in Japan.  And now Daimler India senses that Asian and African auto market can significantly contribute to Daimler AG’s worldwide sales targets.

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV), is Daimler AG’s Indian subsidiary which is located in Chennai.  MFTBC, based in Kawasaki, Japan is subsidiary of Daimler Trucks division. According to the parent company, both the manufacturing plants are important from truck manufacturing sites in Asia. Apart from BharatBenz truck retailing, the parent company also handles sales, marketing and production of Mercedes-Benz Actros Trucks in India.

Growing Demand for Trucks in Asia and Africa

Now, Daimler AG has plans to manufacture their Fuso trucks and BharatBenz trucks in India. It is expected that manufacturing of trucks will be done at Daimler India’s manufacturing plant located in Orgadam , Chennai. Then FUSO will be presented in African and Asian auto markets by the second quarter of this year. The German automaker has a goal of selling more than 500,000 units by 2015 & 700,000 units by the year 2020. Daimler will extend commercial vehicles portfolio shortly.

The company will be rolling out FUSO trucks from second quarter of 2013 and will be exporting it to Africa and other parts of Asia soon. However, these units of FUSO trucks will not be available for Indian auto market. But, the BharatBenz truck which is actually an offspring product of Daimler Trucks has strongly established their BharatBenz brand in India.

According to Daimler India, their parent company has designed their Asian Business model, by taking into consideration the booming auto market for their products in Asia & Africa. This will also helpful to improve the company’s operation in countries like Japan & India. The business model specially designed for Asian auto market by the German automaker will be driven by DICV and MFTBC. Since, both the companies are subsidiaries of Daimler AG. It is expected that MFTBC will benefited from this cross development platform. This will also help to both the subsidiaries to take over potential future markets of Asia and Africa.

Daimler AG declared that FUSO brand’s new products will be unveiled in May 2013. And they will be mostly produced locally in India. Apart from that the company will focus on Indian auto market for their BharatBenz brand. MFTBC will take care of service parts which are again in great demand in African and Asian auto markets.

Truck drivers face an excessively high risk for crash and even of serious health issues. Many crashes on highways can be avoided if truck drivers take appropriate care while driving. This care includes the handling of your truck, maintenance of your truck, taking care while your truck is in parking etc. The most important is taking care of your own health, as you are the most important part of the truck. Here are a few safety tips for truck drivers. Make safe truck driving your top priority.

1. Inspect your Truck Parts

Inspecting your truck before every trip is always a must. You can avoid unnecessary stress by checking each and every part before you take your vehicle on the highways. This way you are sure about the functioning of your truck. If any defects or repairs are detected, you can get them fixed before you start your trip.

Brakes
Good brake system is equally essential for safe driving.
Your truck can be easily controlled with perfect braking system. Check brake fluid regularly.

Safety Belts
Safety belt is very important for safety truck driving. It stops you being thrown from truck during crash. It also lessens the likelihood of you bumping with the interior.

Mirrors and Wipers
Check that nothing is blocking your visibility like glare windows or tinted windows. The easily adjustable mirrors are convenient to suit different driving positions. Good mirrors are helpful while parking, reversing and changing lanes. Good working condition of wipers helps maintain clear visibility.

Truck Exhaust System
Taking proper care of exhaust system will definitely help in fuel efficiently.  Good exhaust system emits less pollutant gases. Maintaining engine also helps to fewer emissions. Taking care of your truck is indirectly taking care of nature as less smoke, less noise means less air pollution, less noise pollution.

2. Take Care of Your Health

You, as the truck driver, are the most important part of truck, so do not neglect your health. Take enough amount of rest before driving. If you feel drowsy then you should not drive. Take a nap and start driving after you find yourself fresh and energetic. You should keep yourself fit and healthy while you are on highways.

3. Take Care while Driving

Follow Speed Rules
Always follow the suggested speed rules or limits. Do not drive too slowly blocking other vehicles. Keep the safe distance between your truck and the other vehicles. Usually a truck requires more stopping distance compared to other vehicles. Stay away from aggressive drivers.

Be alert at NO-ZONE areas
You are aware about blind spots of your truck, but not the other vehicle drivers. Use proper signals while changing lanes or turns, which will help the other vehicle drivers. Most of the crashes occur in no-zone area, so be careful in such areas.

Reduce Speed in work zone
You may find that lanes get redirected due to reconstruction or any other work being carried on the highways. Slow down and adjust your truck in such work zones. This will help you to follow the instruction provided there, which will help to other drivers and yourself too.

Follow Load limits
Carrying excess load is dangerous. Avoid heavy equipments in your truck. It might cause a serious injury during crash. More care is needed if you are carrying dangerous goods like flammable liquids.

Help Others
Help trapped motorists. Inform about crashes and unsafe road conditions to traffic safety agencies. Participate in public safety programs. Your helping nature and performance will help to change the perception of others regarding highway safety.

There is a huge demand for trucks & buses in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. This helped Isuzu Trucks to acquire the top most position in exporting vehicles to Africa. This increase in demand is clearly visible in the very first week of the year 2013. General Motors, Isuzu’s marketing agency for Trucks has given a positive estimation of prospects for company’s sub-Saharan African sales.

The Kenya Motor Industry Association’s data shows that out of 97 units sold, 72 units were of Isuzu buses, trucks and pick-ups. This market share of Isuzu units sold was around 74%.

Popularity of Isuzu Trucks in Africa

Commercial vehicles by Isuzu are accepted in this province as the activities in manufacturing, construction and transportation industry are increased.  As the high prices of cars affected saloon division, the demand for second hand vehicles increased. Various factors like slowing inflation, legislation changes and improvement in infrastructure have affected the Isuzu’s sales.

Exporting truck is a big area & Isuzu surely has lot of opportunity in this area. Particularly the region between southern and northern Africa is a great opportunity for market of commercial truck. Even Isuzu is continuously trying to deepen their exports of truck in this region. Isuzu also expects increase in exports of PSV & other segment of heavy commercial.

Isuzu has full confidence that the heavily populated urban areas in Africa are their next giant international market. Mainly Nigeria is an eye-catching prospect out of 40 odd sub-Saharan frontier markets of Africa. As it is the most populated nation and at the same time it is also country’s best oil producer. Isuzu want to focus on its’ pick-up trucks for this region as it is the best suitable outside the African big cities. Thus, the African continent consists of variety of markets for automakers. And so the company has its manufacturing factory in Egypt, Kenya and South Africa. However, the coordination activities and total management is done from the Port Elizabeth region i.e. from southern coast of South Africa.

Hino trucks had introduced its cabover model 195 into the automotive market this year. This new model gave a record breaking success to Hino. Around 55% sales were of model 195 among the total sales. The company has also plans to introduce their new double-cab option next year. Hino recently displayed a model 195 truck with newly designed air suspension system at ExpoCam show held in Montreal, Canada.

This new air suspension is specially designed for Hino cabover 195 and will be available since August this year on the engine 19,500 GVWR cabover model. However, this air suspension will not be available on other models of Hino trucks. Link Manufacturing Co. designed this new system in Sioux Center at Iowa. This air suspension system consists of dual air bags & a 12v compressor. It also consists of a magnetic sensor for controlling height which will help to balancing frame height. All these features makes the transportation of goods and cargo smoother especially for shock sensitive items.

Delicate commodities like eggs, special electrical parts & flowers need to be transported safely. Also glass products and hazardous materials need special care while transportation. And this new air suspension is a boon for transporters of such delicate items The system senses deflection over 10 mm & then adds or removes air from air bag. As it is set on delay of 40 seconds, it does not overreact to events like hitting potholes. Thus the system ensures a steady and smooth ride. It does not require driver interaction, so drivers really appreciate this system. Similar suspension is available with their LDT model and is very popular. Depending on this popularity of LDT models’ suspension, they expect success for cabover model 195 too.

The cost of this new suspension will be about $3,000 to $3,500 more than what standard spring suspension costs. However, the payload is not compromised as the weight of conventional and air suspension is almost same. This new system of air suspension will help Hino Trucks to promote its cabover 195 models’ sales.

Are women actually good in pickings better car? Increasing evidences shows that it is indeed true that women are better than men when it comes to buying used cars . A recent research about used car buying preferences has also confirmed this.

A recent study of habits regarding buying used cars suggests that women have a tendency to do more research and have more practical choice of a used car they prefer to buy. Women ask tougher questions while buying a used car and insist on having a mechanic inspect before buying. The survey has also found that men generally buy considering visceral aspects whereas women make more realistic choices.

Women’s Used Car Buying Habits

As per the survey 27% of men consult with their family members or friends before buying used cars; whereas about 51 % of females consult with their friends and family members before buying used vehicles. Men generally get cheated in used car deals as they don’t generally like to take advice. On the contrary, women are keen to take advice & plan before confirming their car options. This obviously helps them in taking precise decisions. This also helps women to be happy with their decision of purchasing a used car.

Approximately 65% of women are satisfied with their used car purchase deal and very few women says that they did not get a good deal. If we consider the ratio, you will find that 43 % of men are not satisfied with their used car buying deal.

It is just surprising that many buyers of used vehicles are still taking risks by neglecting the basic checks before buying. The survey says that nearly 30% of the used car and truck buyers do not perform the basic checks like cross checking V5 and MOT to verify the ownership and the vehicle details. Just taking this step can save the used car buyer from lot of troubles.

Which used cars women prefer?

The survey also throws light on the gender gap while selecting a used vehicle. Men have a tendency to choose flashy and brawny cars. Men give preference to luxury sedans or sports cars, whereas women prefer smaller cars and are more fascinated by imported car brands.

The percentage of male car buyers is high in case of brands like Ferrari. Men really love this expensive super-fast sports car. The other brands which men love are “BMW” and “Maserati”.  There are around 87% of male buyers for America’s best-selling F-Series pickup by Ford. Last years figure for a new Porsche 911 shows that 88% of buyers were male.  Brawny brands of heavy truck makers like Land Rover & GMC are ranking high on list of men’s choice. The top ten American brands that favored by men includes Dodge, Chevrolet and Ford. A male car buyer prefers heavy-duty vehicle or sporty vehicles.

When we see the female choice of used car, it is just opposite to men. Women like smaller practical cars and cars with more fuel-efficiency. The most favored tiny used Japanese cars brands of women are Nissan, Subaru and Honda. These brands among top ten car brands are known for their reliability, durability and practicality. Around 46% of females prefer used mini cars by Japanese automakers by Honda, Nissa, Subaru followed by Kia.

All these research and data shows that women buy their used cars wisely. Women do not just choose flashy vehicles but they do lot of research first. Thy have a great practical view in buying used cars.

Hitachi Ltd. has recently revealed a driver-less tiny electric car to assist elderly citizens & citizens with mobility disabilities. This one seater self-driving robotic car uses GPS system to carry its single passenger. Hitachi displayed a prototype of this car recently in the Tsukuba city to demonstrate how this car is designed to automatically pick up & drop passengers. Hitachi has named this self-driven car ROPITS or Robot for Personal Intelligent Transport System.

Many automakers and researchers are working on autonomous vehicles technology. Google car is a great example of this. This self driven car ROPITS by Hitachi resembles to Toyota i-Road which was revealed recently at Geneva Motor Show. Both these car prototypes from Toyota and Google promise fewer accidents, safe highway driving and less traffic jam. However, this tiny car by Hitachi doesn’t require direct control by the passenger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DJXBP0vXQM

This narrow car is designed to aid the needs of aging population as well as physically challenged individuals in Japan. The course & transport time of ROPITS can be programmed through map-loaded tablet computer. This is the unique factor of this self driven car. ROPITS can be used on sidewalks. Once the passenger uses the tablet PC to summon the car, it reaches to the location of the passenger. And passengers just need to indicate their destination using a touch screen. ROPITS is ideally suitable to move in & out of pedestrian spaces and even in crowded streets.

This tiny car ROPITS is equipped with a laser distance sensor, special stereoscopic camera & laser ranger finder. An electric engine of ROPITS is capable of speeding up to 6 miles /hr. It maps a route of passenger’s location with the help of an array of back & front mounted gyro sensors as well as a GPS. It also detects uneven sections, potholes, pedestrians and bumps through an enhanced three-dimensional map. Onboard sensors of ROPITS build a 3-D geometric map using accurate altitude information.

The company relies on Real Time Kinematic GPS as well as Geographical Survey Institute of Japan for this information. ROPITS uses the various GPS information and the laser ranger finders provided in its roof to detect the current location of the person as well as the obstacles in the way.

Hitachi announced the research of ROPITS in Japan this month. The company conducted a test in Tsukuba (Ibaraki Prefecture) within a roughly 18 km wide sidewalk. And ROPITS proved that it is already capable of driving itself within that particular random point on a map, though it is still in development stage. This tiny car is in front of you by just tapping on tablet PC or smart phone or tablet. Though this car is designed for elderly and disabled persons, the company has plans to use the same technology for other services like transporting goods. You can watch this tiny self driven car By Hitachi at Robotics & Mechatronics Conference, Japan in the month of May.

Japanese commercial auto maker, Mitsubishi Fuso truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC)  has developed their sales networks in more than 150 countries. And now the company is concentrating to sustainably reinforce their export business in Asia Pacific auto markets. Mitsubishi Fuso has received a large order of light weight and medium weight trucks in the first quarter of this Year. Fuso’s global bus and truck brand has to supply more than 650 Fuso Fighters (medium duty truck) and Fuso Canters (light duty truck) to Australia and Malaysia.

This large order includes 185 Fuso Canter (light-duty trucks) for Australia and 466 Fuso Fighter (medium-duty trucks) for Malaysian. Southern Waste Management is the top waste disposal company in Malaysia, who already has 474 Fuso trucks. With this new order, they will now have 950 commercial vehicles with them. The order of 185 Fuso Canter trucks is from Star Track which is also a top freight and logistics services provider in Australia. Star Track already owns 3000 commercial vehicles and now they have sent order for FUSO to supplement their existing truck fleet.

MFTBC hopes to establish their company in five different areas with their “FUSO 2015” growth plan. Fuso 2015 includes 5 strategies where the company wants to be a Green Innovation Leader, Profitable Global Player, Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturer’s Efficient Leader, Japan’s Employer Number One and Japan’s Customer Number One. MFTBC expects to achieve their target of selling two lacs commercial vehicles every year under this plan with this new order.

Fuso is well established bus and truck brand and vehicles are manufactured by MFTBC in Japan. They offer an inclusive range of more than 80 different bus and truck models to their customers. They have plans to introduce more models this year. Previously, Fuso was a division of the Mitsubishi group of companies. However, Daimler holds majority of shares of the company and just 11percentage of shares are held by MFTBC.

Mitsubishi Fuso’s Presence in Asia Pacific

Mitsubishi FUSO was in Malaysia market since 2005. To grow their business in Malaysia they have build assembly plant in Pekan. Eight different vehicle models were manufactured in this plant to cater the various needs of the market. Since 2005 the company is growing day by day. Company is able to deliver various range of product with the help of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia. Whereas in Australia the company distributed by Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd and has a dealer network for last forty years.

Mitsubishi FUSO always aim to meet the efficiency with help of their widespread sales – service network and highly qualified staff. Fuso vehicles are known for their durability, reliability. They also meet the environmental safety necessities and delivers exceptional drive-ability and comfort. Mitsubishi FUSO is committed to provide the same service to Malaysia and Australia.

If you’re looking for high quality used Mitsubishi Fuso trucks from Japan, please get in touch with us with your specifications.

Malaysian Government is taking firm step to reduce import duties on cars from Australia and Japan. Government of Malaysia was so far imposing high import taxes to protect local auto manufacturers. This protection given to local car makers was a great hurdle for foreign automakers and resulted in high car prices for  the customers. With Asean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), Malaysian government will dismantle some of the duties levied on import of cars.

At present, Malaysia Government charges high import duty on vehicles imported from Australia and Japan. For Japanese cars the import duty is 15% whereas it is 13.6% for the Australian cars. Now, Southeast Asian Nations Association signed an agreement which will reduce the import duties on cars from these two countries. The measures announced by AFTA shows that it will eliminate the import tax for cars from these two countries by 2016.

Imported Car Prices in Malaysia

Car prices in Malaysia have reduced by 3% to 5 % since Oct 2012. This reduction is a result of import duty on Southeast Asia cars being eliminated since Jan 2010. The further drop in the Malaysian auto prices will be seen as the Government is about to sign more Free Trade Agreements with other foreign countries. This liberalization of the auto industry will be enforced from 2016. So, the complete abolition of Import duty on vehicles from Australia & Japan will be seen by 2016. Till then the prices of imported Japanese cars will remain high. The Malaysian government is also insisting the car companies to reduce the car prices voluntarily.

The car price reduction will be at slow pace due to rising competition among local auto makers. Price reduction will be just 5 % in 2014. The reason of this slow reduction of automobile prices is not just import tax. The Malaysian government also imposes sales tax which is 10 % and an excise tax which is 65% to 105%. There is no change in these taxes as they want to protect the local auto makers and other stakeholders. The local car importer is paying 30 % import duty on cars shipped from Non-Asean countries. Along with this import duty he has to pay 60 % to 105 % excise duty and sales tax of 10 % too. As per Free Trade Agreement with Japan, this import duty will be decreased by 15% this year. The same will be reduced by 10 % next year and will be zero in the year 2016. Malaysian government is revising the possibility of reducing the excise duty. As almost MYR 7 billion revenue is contributed to the government through imports and is an important revenue source for the government.

Malaysia had earlier planned to become the automotive manufacturing hub of the Southeast Asia. But it lost its focus of attracting foreign auto makers as Thailand showered investors with liberal incentives. However, the current AFTA will benefit the consumers in the long term. Most of the Japanese cars will be assembled in Thailand before it shipped to Malaysia. In Thailand the Japanese cars are already exempted from import duties under AFTA. So, the overall impact will help in reducing car prices. The current vehicles sold in Malaysia are 627,753 units. This sales figure includes the sales of 13,000 Japanese imported cars.

The luxury brand by Toyota Motor Corp – Toyota Lexus – is on top for the vehicle dependability as per the 2013 annual vehicle dependability survey conducted by the U.S. research firm J.D. Power and Associates. It is the second consecutive year Lexus has taken the top slot. The 2013 vehicle dependability rankings were decided on the basis of number of problems reported by the owners of 100 cars of each make and model.

According to the J.D. Power survey, Cars, trucks and other vehicles are becoming more reliable than in the years before. Overall, the Japanese automaker Toyota is on the third position on the list. While other Japanese automakers also stood above the average in solving car problems. These automakers are Honda, Suzuki and Mazda. Honda is on the 7th position, Suzuki is at 10th position and Mazda is at 11th position for vehicle dependability. The survey also says that other Japanese car makers like Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru are making their best efforts to become the choice of American vehicle buyers.

History of Lexus as the Most Dependable Car

Lexus was every time on the top of the survey for last 14 successive years, however, it just dipped in rankings from from 2008 due to vehicle recall. The figures of the US based research firm – J.D. Power and Associates – however, show that it regained back its position in 2012. J.D. Power collected data from 37,000 auto owners. These owners include the buyers of cars, SUVs, and trucks
of 2010 model year. This survey measured the problems faced by all these owners during last three years, after they have purchased the vehicle. As per this U.S. Research Company there is a fall of 5% in problem occurrence since 1989, when the company started collecting data regarding problems in new cars. The earlier survey by J.D. Power showed that there are more problems with brand new models.  It was found that twenty one brands out of thirty one brands have improved in quality. This clearly means that the new launched models and redesigned models are of better quality than the previous models.

The Porsche of Porsche AG was on second position in the dependability survey last year and it has successfully maintained its position this year too. Honda brand of Honda Motor Corp was 12th last year and it climbed to the 7th position. The problems faced by the owner of Porsche, Lexus, Toyota and Lincoln were very few. More problems were reported by the Mitsubishi, Land Rover, Dodge and Jeep owners. These problems include  engine failure, excessive wind noise, and dashboard electronic glitches. The figure of 132 problems per 100 vehicles was decreased to 126 problems for 2010 model year.  The new and redesigned car and trucks of 2010 model performed well and had 116 problems per 100 vehicles. There were 133 problems per 100 vehicles faced by 2009 model year. The new and redesigned models of 2010 included Lexus ES350, Buick LaCrosse, Toyota Camry and Ford Mustang. New pickups (heavy duty truck) of 2010 -Ram saw the biggest leaps in the rankings. It was on 29th position in 2012 and is on ninth position this year.

As per the J.D. Power and Associates survey there is a marked improvement in original vehicle dependability every year. We recommend our customers to buy dependable vehicles manufactured by Japanese brands such as Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Suzuki, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru.

Suzuki Motor Corp. is one of the major Japanese auto manufacturers that builds subcompact trucks also called as mini trucks or Kei trucks. Suzuki will soon start manufacturing mini trucks in Myanmar. Suzuki has received Myanmar government approval for the establishment of its new subsidiary to start production of mini trucks in Myanmar. Suzuki has plans to start its mini truck manufacturing in Myanmar,  from May 2013.

Why Japanese Mini Trucks?

Japanese mini truck is the perfect choice for those who want a 4WD light utility vehicle that is flexible, reliable and economical. These mini trucks from Japan are ideal for Construction sites, farms, horticultural businesses, light manufacturing businesses, hunting, Parks and Zoos, Golf courses, Resorts, Hotels, Educational as well as corporate campuses. That is the reason why Japanese mini trucks or kei trucks have a huge demand.

Suzuki is the biggest auto manufactures in Japan and stands forth in total auto sales in the home country. And, Suzuki is well known especially for small cars and mini trucks. Mazda mini trucks are also essentially manufactured by Suzuki itself.  Suzuki also shares common components of Mazda mini trucks with slight cosmetic changes.

With the new subsidiary in Myanmar, Suzuki plans to enter the mini truck market Southeast Asian countries. Myanmar has introduced many economic reforms. With the country’s economic liberalization and development of infrastructure, many foreign countries are entering the Myanmar auto market. Suzuki was in Myanmar for eleven years since 1999. During that period the production was carried out under a joint venture with Toyota Tsusho Corp., a Japanese trading house.  During 1999-2010 ,Myanmar Suzuki Motor Co. manufactured around 6,000 cars and nearly 10,000 motorbikes totally at their Yangon plant. However, the venture was wound up in 2010 as their government business license expired. Though the said plant was closed at that time, the same will be reopened for manufacturing mini trucks. This operation will be done under Suzuki (Myanmar) Motor Co., which is a new fully owned Suzuki’s subsidiary.

Maruti Suzuki , Suzuki’s Indian subsidiary is the top manufacturer of small cars, even in India. Maruti Suzuki is also planning to build a new factory in Myanmar. However, this may take a long time, and the current production will be undertaken in their Yangon plant and the productions are expected to begin from the month of May. By utilizing the existing plant and employing 80-90 employees, Suzuki has planned to start production of 100 mini trucks a month. Since these mini trucks will be sold in Myanmar, there may not be visible local response for it right now. However, The Company expects an increased demand for mini trucks in the near future in Myanmar. There is also a great support from Government of Japan for this investment in the Southeast Asian country.