It was in November, 2004 that Nissan Diesel launched the Quon family of heavy duty trucks replacing its predecessor Big Thumb.   Quon family of heavy trucks is still being manufactured by Nissan UD.  The launch of Quon truck was a landmark in the history of trucking industry for several reasons.

First of all, when Quon was launched in 2004, it was the first truck in the world which was equipped with Urea SCR technology for achieving degree of exhaust emissions much below that specified by the Euro-4 emission standards.   Nissan Diesel Quon also complied with the more stringent Japanese emission standards a year ahead of its implementation in October 2005 – thus achieving the reductions of CO2 levels specified in the Kyoto Protocol.

Secondly, Nissan Quon was the first truck in the world to adopt SRS knee airbag for driver’s seat.  This was done based on Nissan Diesel’s drive to improve safety and comfort for the driver and other members in the cabin.  The truck was made more comfortable by taking measures to increase the compartment space, providing operational devices with design based on ergonomic conventions and ease of use.

To summarize, the outstanding features of Nissan UD Quon trucks are Superb environmental performance, reduced CO2 emissions, remarkable fuel efficiency, that conforms to strict long-term exhaust regulations of most European countries and Japan.

Nissan Quon truck was awarded the 2005 Good Design Award.  The award was conferred for the following achievements:

• Contributing to reductions in CO2 levels as stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol
• Complying to the world’s most stringent 2005 exhaust emissions regulations
• Creating a safer environment for the driver and reducing the fatigue of drivers in hard long distance drives.
• Contributing to reducing operational costs of trucks through improvements in fuel economy

Even today, Nissan UD’s R&D activities are based on the principle of developing environmentally responsible products.  Nissan UD continues to seek ways to prevent global warming and other environmental problems while developing products that meet its customers’ expectations by further improving the fuel economy of its vehicles.

In one of our earlier posts UD Trucks to launch New Quon Trucks, you can see that Nissan UD has redesigned the Quon family of trucks to meet the revised emission standards of Japan, that came into effect from April 2010, and also to improve driving performance apart from the environmental performance.

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