Shortage of auto parts after the earthquake and tsunami

The devastating earthquake and the ferocious tsunami have really hit Japan hard.  The Japanese industry in general incurred huge losses. The Japanese automobile industry has been hit like never before with many of the car factories damaged severely.  The backlog of orders grew manifold because all the major car and truck makers had to cut their production by half.  With the peak selling season going on, the major Japanese automobile brands are still facing shortage of car and truck parts and accessories.

The new Honda Civic, Toyota Prius hybrid, and 4Runner SUV which were supposed to dominate the peak selling season are nowhere to be found.  Recently, Toyota and Honda informed their dealers that full production at all their manufacturing plants would start in September.  This is a good two months ahead of the original schedule.  This news has been welcomed by all the dealers.  Industry sources estimate that large car makers like Infiniti, Nissan, Honda, Lexus and Toyota have lost a whopping 200,000 car sales in the United States, since the earthquake struck in March.  The financial loss is estimated at $6 billion.

Japanese car manufacturers have devised an aggressive sales strategy in order to cover the huge losses incurred.  Attractive incentives are also being offered to boost the sales campaign.  Japanese automakers fear that they may not be able to reclaim the lost share.  This is mainly because the consumers have a wide range of options available while buying a car.  The once famous brand loyalty by the consumers has greatly reduced and the consumer tastes also varies from time to time.

For the next two months, the prices of Japanese branded cars are expected to be high and the supplies are likely to be very tight.  The prices of used cars are also at an all time high making it very difficult for the consumer to choose.  With very few new branded cars hitting the market, the demand for used cars is going to increase and the prices of used cars are definitely going to stay high.  Even the availability of used cars and trucks is at an all time low.

Many dealers feel that the situation could get worse, if the new cars become fewer.  This would prompt the Japanese car brand dealers to sell only expensive used cars and service work to compensate for their losses due to a dip in new car sales.

The dealers may not receive their optimum allocation of cars until November, even if the production begins in September.  The dealers are optimistic that Toyota and Honda would aggressively launch their sales campaign to make up for lost sales by offering plenty of incentives and deals.  The sales in the fourth quarter are expected to be much stronger along with the incentives offered.  The high price of used cars is also expected to drive the consumers to buy new cars.

Toyota is a little more optimistic and upbeat about its recovery than Nissan or Honda.  By next month, Toyota expects its North American Production to reach eighty percent of its original capacity.  The month of August is expected to be tough. But, both the car makers and dealers are optimistic that sales would definitely start improving from the fourth quarter.

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UD Trucks launch new models of Condor and Quon in Australia

UD Trucks Corporation has recently launched their fresh series at the Brisbane Truck Show in Australia. The company known for its continual service of producing reliable and rugged trucks constantly upgrades itself to suit the changing need of their customers.  They have now done a complete facelift for their heavy duty range models Quon along with the all new range of Condor medium duty models for the Australian market.  With the amount of renovations done to accord with the regulations of Euro 5 emissions, the Australian heavy duty truck seems to have got even better.  By fulfilling the JPLT 05 stringent emissions standard, the Quon maintains its position as the greenest and cleanest heavy duty truck in Australia.

For co-relating the global models names with the new Australian range, the company has assembled the PK and MK medium duty trucks under the banner name of Condor, while GW, CW, and GK heavy duty trucks offered by UD Trucks will be under the banner of Quon.

John Busshel, President of the UD Truck Region Oceania delivers that with a constantly upgraded performance, their company has carved a niche for themselves. UD’s new range is a big endeavour which not only pays attention to the performance of the trucks but also to the driver’s safety and exhaust emission. The adoption of the technology of ECO Fleet emission technology has helped UD Trucks to emerge as leaders in their place as a segment of the Volvo Group. The World Wide Fund for Nature’s Climate Savers Program first joined by the Volvo Group assures to give us a reduction in emissions of carbon nearly by 2014.

From the safety point of view the inclusion of SRS drivers’ safety side airbags and FUPS are customary in all the trucks. There are many other added features as well like the navigation system and integrated audio for entertainment. The fitting of three external cameras can also further improve safety giving the driver a complete 360 degree round view. The interior of the trucks have also been given a thorough transformation from the new CVG driver’s seat, providing ample support for head, more leg room, adjustable seat, lumbar control, seat cushions and mechanical height.

UD Trucks Japan, the pioneer innovators of SCR technology has added another important feature namely the new seven litres, six cylinders, ECO Fleet intercooled and turbocharged diesel engine.

With the strategy integrating provision for Euro 6 power plants, the series of the new Condor framework is expected to serve at least until 2020. For an additional peace of mind, Electronic Brake System (EBS), Anti Slip Regulation (ASR) and Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS) have also been added.

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Japanese Automakers Start Checking Radiation Levels on Vehicles

If the natural calamities were not enough to cause disturbance and havoc in the lives of the people of Japan, the Japanese industry has also been badly hit. The Japanese car manufacturing industry is one of the leading sectors in Japan which also greatly contributes to the economy. But, the Japanese car industry has also been hit with severe problems and never before has the booming car industry of Japan faced so many problems.

The Japanese car industry has been facing a severe shortage of auto parts due to problems in supply chain management. The furious tsunami has caused great damage to the nuclear plants along the coastal areas of Japan resulting in radiation leaks which have also crossed the danger limit in many areas. As you already know, the Japanese car giants export their cars to plenty of countries around the world. Owing to this, plenty of international car buyers who buy Japanese brand of cars have expressed great fear and concern about the Japanese cars containing harmful radioactive substances.

To remove all these fears expressed by the international customers, the Japanese car industry on its part has been carrying out strict checks on its cars to detect any kind of radioactive substances. Not only are the tires of the cars being checked, but even the interiors of the cars are being thoroughly checked. And the good news is not even a single car with radioactive trace has been found. Most of the top car manufacturing giants in Japan are carrying out strict tests.

It has been unanimously agreed by the entire car manufacturing companies of Japan that these tests to check the radiation levels must continue till the problem of nuclear reactors is fully solved. You would be happy to note that in spite of all the radiation fears the sales of Japanese cars in the foreign countries have not dropped. Leading car manufacturing giant Nissan has decided to thoroughly check and screen all the auto parts before shipping their cars to Taiwan.

In order to ascertain that the cars are radiation free and have been properly screened, all the checked cars will sport stickers on the lower side of the right corner. These stickers can be posted only on those cars which have cleared the radiation test. Apart from Nissan, even the other car manufacturing companies are carrying out similar radiation checks on their cars. For every five thousand cars manufactured, ten cars are thoroughly checked for radiation. These checks have become necessary so that Japan can export its cars to all other countries which will definitely help its car industry. At the same time, even the consumers in the importing countries will be happy and relieved to buy Japanese cars.

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Post-quake Effects on UD Trucks Manufacturing Operations in Japan

On March 11, 2011, a powerful earthquake of 8.9 magnitude had struck Japan, followed by a devastating tsunami and continuous aftershocks.  The earthquake and the tsunami led to thousands of people being dead or missing, disrupted transportation and communication networks, and triggered power outages across north-east Japan.  Major auto manufacturers in the country, including UD Trucks, which is owned by Volvo, the Swedish truck manufacturer, were also drastically affected.

Truck Tossed by Earthquake at Sendai Port, Japan

For the last few days, there have been increasing concerns about the badly affected nuclear reactors in northeastern Japan.  As a result, the Japanese truck manufacturer – UD Trucks have decided to stop production at all of its facilities and offices till Monday, March 21.

UD Trucks’ main Ageo facility located in the Saitama prefecture, just 200 kms from the affected Fukushima nuclear plant, has been damaged by the recent calamities.  The R&D building has been shut down and will remain closed throughout the week.  So far, the Japanese authorities have not asked for the evacuation of the Ageo area.  But Volvo is carefully monitoring the situation.

UD Trucks has set up a special risk management team in Ageo for assessing the nuclear power plant damage.  The team will collect and then analyze information to enable the UD Trucks management to take necessary safety measures as quickly as possible.

Volvo also announced that UD Trucks will be donating around 100 million yen (about $1.27 million), including goods like trucks, to help support relief and recovery efforts for the people and areas affected by the recent disaster.  Japan represents around 7%-8% of the turnover of the Volvo Group, the world’s second largest truck manufacturer.

At present, Volvo has suspended production and advised all its 9,500 or so employees to stay at home until any further notice.  Though severe damage has been caused to four workshops and dealers in the badly affected Sendai region, all Volvo employees have been accounted for and those at UD Trucks dealers appear to be unharmed.  Staff at the sales office, and those involved with back office operations and parts supply returned to work on Thursday, March 17, with some employees starting recovery activities.  No production work however will resume this week.

The UD Trucks management is concerned that organized power cuts within the Tokyo area might also affect production activities.  Deliveries from UD Trucks’ suppliers being uncertain for the near future, teams from the company will work together with its suppliers to determine their status.  As per the latest press release from UD Trucks,  production at UD Trucks’ facilities in the Tokyo area are likely to resume on a limited scale from March 28, 2011.

Technorati Tags: Japan, UD Trucks, Japanese truck

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UD Trucks targeting South African Markets

UD Trucks Southern Africa is gearing up for significant growth in the truck market in Africa in the following three years.  UD Trucks, under its former name Nissan Diesel, has enjoyed substantial success in South Africa since it was established there in 1962, rising to the position of the brand’s principal market outside Japan.  The company has in the last few decades built for itself an excellent reputation as a dependable truck supplier, offering unmatched flexibility and the full support of the UD Trucks Corporation in Japan.  The truck manufacturer is now mainly focusing on selling more trucks in the African markets of Nigeria and Angola.

After getting a hold on the sub-Saharan market last year, UD Trucks decided to cover the major transport routes across the African continent, initially concentrating on two countries, namely, Nigeria and Angola, that together represented a new truck market of around 15,300 units per year.

According to a company spokesperson, achieving a sound position in the Angolan and Nigerian markets would mean “significant numbers” with respect to new unit sales for UD Trucks.

Newly appointed distributors are engaged in opening service dealerships in different parts of Nigeria and Angola, focusing on sales mainly in the cities.  Also, as part of its strategy to capture the market share of existing players, UD Truck’s now plans to launch and support seven models in Nigeria, and twelve models in Angola. UD Trucks Southern Africa currently offers vehicles that are engineered, manufactured and subjected to rigorous testing for withstanding the harsh African operating conditions; that is another reason why UD trucks are so popular in South Africa.

To put an end to the way African truck operators would often have to wait for up to three months for truck parts, a new parts warehouse in Dubai and South Africa will be used to meet the needs in Africa and thus improve support service.

At present, UD Trucks already has dealers in Angola, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Namibia, Swaziland,  Seychelles, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and is checking out other opportunities for expansion in the region.

UD Trucks is of the opinion that the truck market in Southern African could grow by around 14.38% this year, reaching around 28,187 units.  The year 2010 had seen a 16.3% increase in sales figures over those for 2009.  The good performance of the South African truck market last year, despite most of the global truck markets continuing to experience severe strain, indicates that the local economy of South African countries was once again surging ahead after a damaging recession.

In 2011, UD Trucks now expects that the medium commercial vehicle market will grow by around 6% to 7%, the heavy truck market by 15% to 17%, and the market for extra-heavy commercial vehicles by 22%.

Tags: ud trucks south africa

UD Trucks Gets a Logo Makeover

In February 2010, the name Nissan Diesel Trucks Co. was officially changed to UD Trucks Corporation.  And now, to signify the complete integration of the company into the multinational AB Volvo group, and re-establish the brand in its new avatar, a brand new global logo was launched early this year.  The earlier familiar ‘UD Trucks’ logo in red and white has now been replaced with a gleaming red and chrome one.   The newly launched logo will be utilized for branding at all levels and will be used for trucks and dealerships as well as for all types of marketing materials and activities.

AB Volvo had gained majority ownership of one of Japan’s top selling brands, UD Trucks Corporation Japan, back in March 2007.  The change in logo in 2011 marks the completion of the re-branding program initiated last year.

2011 will be an exciting period for UD Trucks.  The Japanese truck maker is all set to add a clutch of new models to its range, some of them with vital new products incorporated.  The company claims it is also going to introduce some of the most eco-friendly trucks in the international market.

The new logo presents a striking visual change to customers of UD Trucks, but the company is sure that its brand will continue to stay true to its age old promise of offering ultimate dependability.

Origin of the name UD Trucks

Interestingly, most people believe the name ‘UD’ which has been used as a company trade mark since long, stands for ‘Ultimate Dependability’.  Well, contrary to popular belief, UD was actually an acronym for ‘Uniflow-Scavenging Diesel Engine’, a revolutionary supercharged unit that was introduced in 1955 and has provided UD Trucks with their driving force for decades.  As time passed, instead of using the acronym UD to refer to the engine, people began to use it as the name of the company itself!

Currently, UD Trucks are all assembled and manufactured in Japan and then exported to countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, North America, and also South and  Central America.  The present UD Trucks model line-up comprises a range of heavy and medium duty products.  Of these, the flagship GW model is the top selling Japanese prime mover since the last five years.

We also export used and new UD trucks made in Japan to countries in Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and the Middle East.  If you are looking for new or used UD trucks, please feel free to get in touch with your requirements.

Technorati Tags: UD Trucks, Japanese truck, Japan

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Volvo, the truck company, who has top brands such UD Trucks, Renault Trucks, Volvo Trucks, and Mack Trucks – has become the first auto maker in the world to join the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) Climate Savers program.  Through this partnership with WWF, the Volvo Group of truck companies will undertake significant reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from their trucks manufactured through 2014.

This agreement between WWF and Volvo Group will be applicable for the Volvo Group’s truck companies UD Trucks, Renault Trucks, Volvo Trucks, and Mack Trucks.  The undertaking states that:

• > Volvo will cut down the amount of lifetime CO2 emissions by trucks marketed and manufactured from 2009 to 2014 by 13,000,000 tons, when compared to models manufactured in 2008. Volvo will achieve this goal by introducing cutting-edge technologies for improving fuel efficiency.  The amount of CO2 emissions to be reduced is almost the same as the total amount of CO2 emissions in Sweden in a period of three months.
• > The Volvo Group will also undertake reduction of CO2 emissions from its manufacturing plants by 12% (0.5 million tons) before 2014, when compared with 2008.
• > Volvo will introduce trucks in the commercial truck market that will be powered by renewable fuel/gas before 2014.
• > Volvo will develop a prototype truck which would have 20% lower fuel consumption compared to equivalent 2008 model.

Autonomous technical experts appointed by WWF will oversee and monitor the progress of the Volvo Group to ensure that it adheres to the agreement.

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Nissan Diesel has been building the light duty trucks Nissan Patrol Pickup for overseas market and Nissan Atlas F24 for the Japanese domestic market.  However, UD Trucks will soon end their partnership with Nissan Motor Co. as of January 2011.  Nissan Shatai, a subsidiary of Nissan based in Kyoto would take over the production of the Nissan Atlas F24 light duty pickup trucks.  Nissan Shatai’s Shonan Plant will manufacture Patrol Pickup starting from June 2011.

As per the views expressed by the top management of UD Trucks, this move to move the production of light duty trucks to Nissan Shatai would allow UD Trucks to concentrate on heavy duty and medium duty trucks.  For manufacturing light-duty pickup trucks for the overseas market, UD Trucks would however maintain its own assembly lines.

From the point of view of Nissan Motors, this move is a part of their goal to optimize assembly lines by consolidating production of similar vehicle types – Nissan Patrol SUV and Nissan Patrol Pickup – in this case.  Nissan Patrol SUV, which has lot of similarity to the Patrol Pickup is currently being manufactured by the Nissan Shatai’s Shonan Plant.  The end of collaboration contract for the production of light-duty trucks will have any serious impact on the UD Truck’s financial position or earnings as the move would not incur any costs related to restructuring.

UD Trucks manufactured 6,200 light duty trucks in 2009, in partnership contract with Nissan Motors.  In the first two quarters of this year, it produced and marketed 4,800 light duty trucks for Nissan Motor Co.

Technorati Tags: Nissan Patrol Pickup, UD Trucks, Nissan Atlas F24

Tags: nissan ud light duty trucks

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.

Technorati Tags: Nissan Diesel, Quon, Nissan UD, Kyoto Protocol

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Nissan launches new models of PK and PW Series Trucks

This month, as per a Press Release from Nissan UD Trucks, Japan, UD Trucks have launched  all new models of Condor PK Series (9 Ton class) and Condor PW Series (12 Ton class)  as a part of full model change of their medium duty trucks.  The new Condor PK and PW models have a new cab design which is more akin to the cab design of Nissan UD’s heavy duty truck series ‘Quon‘.  So the new medium duty truck series PK and PW will have the same comfort level, crash safety performance, and superb aerodynamic performance of the Heavy duty truck Quon,  along with the nimble maneuverability of medium duty trucks.

Nissan Condor PW Series Trucks

The new Condor PK and PW series share the same brake parts and axle parts with the heavy duty truck Quon series- thus ensuring added safety and comfort for the driver.  These new Condor models are powered by GH7 engine that comes with a newly designed common rail system with maximum fuel injection pressure.  The new Condor series trucks are fitted with Urea SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) system and UDPC (UD Particulate Cleaning) system to reduce NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) and PM (Particulate Matter) for emission control.  With these advanced technologies, the new PK and PW Condor series complies fully with Japan’s 2009 emission control regulations.

The new Nissan Condor PK and PW models come with a multifunction display for monitoring the operational status of the truck via the Internet.  These trucks are also fitted with the “Fuel Economy King” system as a standard which prompts the driver on how to drive for improved fuel efficiency.  These features in the new Condor model lead to improved safety, higher fuel efficiency and  improved operations.

The new Condor PK 9 Ton class model is priced at about 9,600,000 Yen and the PW 12 ton class model is priced at around 11,693,000 yen.  These models changes by Nissan UD show their commitment to bring improved safety, comfort and fuel economy to all the models in their lineup.  Combining medium-duty truck economy with heavy-duty truck cab comfort in these new models would certainly improve the sales of Nissan Condor Medium duty trucks.

Tags: nissan condor pk series, nissan condor pw series, Nissan UD Medium Duty Trucks