Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), together with Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV), its Indian counterpart under the new Asia Business Model, recently announced it has started production of its first left-hand drive (LHD) FUSO trucks specifically developed for the growth markets in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Built at DICV’s state-of-the-art Oragadam plant in Chennai, India, the FUSO FJ medium-heavy-duty truck will first be launched in markets like, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Egypt, and in the mid-term, in further markets in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. With this, the company strengthens its portfolio of new FUSO trucks for the non-Asian markets as well, adding thrust to its export strategy.
As part of the first wave of MFTBC’s export strategy, the FUSO trucks are already exported to Kenya, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, and Brunei, and now on its way to Indonesia, the company’s largest export market. The new FUSO trucks have been well received by customers. More left-hand drive FUSO truck variants will follow to address a wider market.
Daimler starts production of left-hand drive FUSO trucks in India for export
All-new robust FUSO trucks giving “more choice for customers” in the growth markets
These robust and fuel-efficient trucks, newly developed to meet the ever demanding customer expectations, reinforce FUSO’s leading presence in the so-called growth markets. Rigorous testing has been assessed under the most strenuous driving conditions to ensure maximum reliability of the trucks. The new FUSO trucks have already arrived and are sold in Kenya, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, and Brunei, and are now on their way to Indonesia, with already truck orders placed from the company’s local distributer.
The whole new batch of newly developed FUSO trucks comprises 5 new models in total, the light-medium-duty (GVW 9-16 tons referred to as ‘FA’ & ‘FI’) and the medium-heavy-duty (GVW 25-49 tons referred to as ‘FJ’, ‘FO’ & ‘FZ’), thus providing more choice to customers. These trucks, models depending on the markets, will be exported and sold through MFTBC’s global network in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
The new “Asia Business Model” moving ahead
The Asia Business Model is an integral component of Daimler Trucks Global Excellence Program ‘DT#1 (Daimler Trucks Number One)’ designed to secure Daimler Trucks leadership position in the key growth markets in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. By leveraging its operational strengths in Kawasaki, Japan (MFTBC), and Chennai, India (DICV), the new business model is targeted to double its sales (MFTBC and DICV combined) to over 290,000 units by 2020, and thus, as “Daimler Trucks in Asia” making a major contribution to Daimler Trucks overall sales target of over 500,000 units sold in the year 2015 and more than 700,000 trucks in the year 2020.
The new business model enables Daimler Trucks in Asia to fully leverage its product portfolio, R&D network, joint sourcing, and global production footprint. Short-term joint projects are already underway in areas including sourcing, logistics, and shared IT systems and platforms.
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Also see – Daimler exports made-in-India FUSO trucks to Zimbabwe
