In its 5th year, the Volvo Trucks Fuelwatch Challenge endeavors to coach drivers on fuel economy and proper driving skills. As your long term partner, our goal is to help companies reduce wastage and to reduce truck operating costs wherever we can. Based on past feedback, many drivers and companies have benefitted from Fuelwatch and have gone on to take part in the Volvo Trucks Driver Development Program which is currently running free of charge to customers who sign up for it.

We hope this year, Fuelwatch will once again be the talk of town and we will see drivers from all over Malaysia participating to win the title of Fuelwatch Challenge 2014 Champion. He/She alongside one representative from the winning company will have the opportunity to fly to Europe in Sept 2014 to compete in the Fuelwatch Challenge World Final!

Preliminary round:
A Driver Training course will be held in the first half of the day (optional participation) followed by 30-minute written test sessions in the afternoon. The written session will start with a 10 minute briefing session on the Fuelwatch Challenge followed by a 20-minute test session. Each driver only needs to participate in one session. Participants who are unable to join the Driver Training course can drop by the Volvo Malaysia dealerships anytime during the first half of the day of each Preliminary Round to take the written test.

Semi-Finals:
20 semi-finalists will be shortlisted from the preliminary round. The challenge in the semi-finals will be a combination of a truck walk-round test plus a 20 km route driving session on public roads in a truck with i-shift. The route will be set by Volvo Malaysia and any deviations are not allowed. A reasonable time limit will be imposed.

Finals:
There will be 3 finalists shortlisted from the 20 semi-finalists. The final round will consists of a 40-50 km route driving session on public roads. The route will be set out by Volvo Malaysia and any deviations are not allowed. A reasonable time limit will be imposed.

Terima Kasih terus Menyokong Perkembangan Kami – Mitsubishi Fuso

Cabutan bertuah yang pertama diadakan oleh Mitsubishi Fuso pada tahun 2006 mendapat sambutan yang mengalakkan dan sekali lagi diadakan pada tahun ini di Connexion at Nexus, Bangsar South. Permintaan yang tinggi dan sambutan ulangtahun yang ke-10 Mitsubishi Fuso telah mempertaruhkan Mercedes C200 sebagai hadiah utama di dalam cabutan bertuah.

Pusingan pertama untuk cabutan bertuah Mini telah berlangsung pada 30 April 2014, pusingan kedua cabutan bertuah Mini akan diadakan pada August 2014 dan pusingan cabutan bertuah Mini yang terakhir akan diadakan pada Januari 2015.

Hadiah Cabutan Bertuah Mini Pusing Pertama
Tempat Pertama: Baucer Percutian bernilai RM20 000
Tempat Kedua: Baucer Percutian bernilai RM10 000
Tempat Ketiga: Baucer Percutian bernilai RM5 000
10 Hadiah Saguhati: Baucer Service dan Part bernilai RM1 000

Pemenang tempat pertama untuk pusingan pertama cabutan bertuah Mini ialah G Shank Enterprise (M) Sdn Bhd, pemenang tempat kedua ialah Sun Engle Food Industries Sdn Bhd dan pemenang tempat ketiga ialah On Hing Enterprise Sdn Bhd. Mana- mana pihak yang tidak berpeluang untuk memenangi sebarang hadiah dipusingan pertama cabutan bertuah Mini, masih mempunyai peluang pada pusingan seterusnya.

“Saya amat berterima kasih kepada pihak FUSO kerana memberi ganjaran kepada pelanggan kami, saya memang tidak menjangkakan apa-apa kemenangan pada hari ini, tapi saya mewakili pelanggan saya amat gembira kerana mendapat tempat pertama di dalam cabutan bertuah Mini,” kata Mr Ng Fook Min, Huan Sin Cycle Motor Sdn Bhd.

“Kami mahu memenangi tempat pertama tetapi dengan kemenangan ditempat kedua juga amatlah berbaloi, kami tidak sabar untuk membawa pulang baucer percutian kepada pelanggan kami yang bertuah itu. Kami berharap konsep cabutan bertuah ini akan diteruskan setiap tahun agar pelanggan kami berpeluang memenangi lebih banyak hadiah,” kata Mr Liew Thian Loy, Pengadang Baru Motors Sdn Bhd.

“Saya telah bersama FUSO lebih tujuh tahun dan saya yakin untuk mengatakan bahawa FUSO semakin maju kehadapan. Kami juga lebih baik dalam memahami kehendak pengguna dan menerima banyak maklum balas serta sokongan yang positif. Semua pihak mengetahui bahawa kami memberi pakej yang fleksibal dan dengan adanya majlis seperti hari ini, cukup untuk membuktikan bahawa kami berkembang seiring dengan peredaran semasa,” kata Mr Jacky Tan, Senior Manager of Retail Sales dan Product Management of Mitsubishi FUSO.

Not only blessed with stunning weather, but also achieving a record attendance for the Prai event of the 2014 Fuelwatch challenge, Volvo had more than one reason to be content. As many as 128 participants had signed up before noon with many more turning up at the end of their Saturday shift.

Mats Nilsson (Managing Director, Volvo Malaysia), who is secretly practicing his Bahasa Malaysia, was clearly elated. Some of the drivers have attended the previous year's event and he even spoke to drivers that have been participating in all five Fuelwatch Challenges held in Malaysia.

Besides kicking off the Prai event for this year's Fuelwatch Challenge, Volvo also handed over mock-keys for fleet owners that have purchased trucks. Said Nielsson "These are two of our key customers in the northern region of Malaysia. We are grateful for the continued support and appreciate the trust given by these two customers."

In total over 800 drivers have signed up for this year's Fuelwatch in Malaysia, which Nilsson sees as a sign of the importance of the event and a testimonial to the effectiveness of the program. In his speech he reiterated on the newly launched Driver Development Program (DDP) which is open to all Volvo drivers, aiming at enhancing their driving skills.

Customers in and around Prai and Ipoh can also look forward to improved services as Volvo Malaysia is expanding in the northern region and is adding another dealership in Ipoh.

The 3rd Total Support Kaizen Rally for the Asia & Oceania Region was held in Tokyo, Japan from 25th – 26th of March 2014. This is an annual event was organized by HINO Motors Limited Japan and was attended by participants from 17 countries across the Asia & Oceania region.

The Total Support Kaizen Rally was divided into 2 categories i.e. Kaizen Rally and Exhibition category. HINO Motors Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd participated in both categories. 1st place Kaizen Rally was won by New Zealand and 2nd was Taiwan. HINO Motors Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd came out 3rd place which was represented by Mr Redzuan Albakri Abdullah (AGM Parts & Service) and Mr Tan Wee Shern (Parts Regional Officer). In the exhibition category Taiwan was declared the winner.

Participants also had the opportunity to visit the HINO Hamura Plan, Customer Technical Centre and Uome Warehouse and Tokyo HINO Mizuho Branch - Sales, Service Workshop and Parts.

Since 2010, HINO has been the market leader in the overall commercial Truck & Bus segment (4,500kg and above) in Malaysia. In 2013, HINO has enjoyed its fourth consecutive year in achieving the No. 1 market share combining all the light, medium & heavy duty truck and bus categories. Especially for HINO 300 series (LCV) contributed with the sales of 5739 units which market growth of 9% from 2012 and being as the highest sales record of 7007 units.

HINO 300 Series launched in 2012, and it’s featured of QDR (Quality, Durability & Reliability) and the latest cabin design for comfort has been accepted by the market. And also, the expansion of HINO Sales and Services nationwide network has been contributed to this growth. By increasing customers’ trust and confidence in HINO products and dealers, Hino Motors Sales Malaysia aims to further grow its market share.

Malaysia has been a very significant market for HINO. Excluding Japan, it is now the third largest market in the world after Indonesia and Thailand. This is greatly indebted toadvanced technology in HINO's line-ups for the Malaysian market. In 2012, Hino Motors Sales Malaysia (HMSM) has introduced the 300 series, boasting the first fully automatic transmission to be installed in a light commercial vehicles, the new series, focused on reliability, fuel efficiency and powerful engine performance, consists of six models with three different cabin variations.

In order to meet the increasing market demand, HINO has set up its first manufacturing plant in Malaysia strategically located in Sendayan TechValley, NegeriSembilan. The plant is scheduled for production in the first quarter this year.

The Air Pollution Control (Air Pollutant Emission) (Controlled Vehicles) Regulation was gazetted on October 25 to phase out pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles and to introduce a 15-year service limit for newly registered diesel commercial vehicles.

A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department said that the Regulation is required to take the proposal to phase out some 80 000 pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles including diesel goods vehicles forward. Non-franchised buses and light buses using an incentive-cum-regulatory approach, with the aim of improving roadside air quality and better protecting public health. Under the proposal, the Government will offer eligible vehicle owners an ex-gratia payment ranging from 27 per cent to 33 per cent of the average taxable value of comparable new vehicles.

"The Regulation will stipulate retirement deadlines for pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles with reference to their respective dates of first registration, namely January 1, 2016, for the most polluting pre-Euro diesel commercial vehicles, and January 1, 2017; January 1, 2018; and January 1, 2020, for Euro I, II and III vehicles respectively. The Regulation also sets a service-life limit of 15 years for diesel commercial vehicles first registered after the commencement of the Regulation to enable timely replacement of diesel commercial vehicles in the long run for better roadside air quality," he said.

"To reduce the number of polluting diesel commercial vehicles, the Regulation requires the owners of the vehicles concerned to, on each licence application from the respective retirement deadlines or from their 15th anniversary date of first registration, as the case may be, comply with the emission standards applicable to them as if they were first registered on the date of the vehicle licence application. Failure to comply with the requirement may offer grounds for the Commissioner for Transport to refuse to license the vehicles," he added.

Phasing out pre-Euro IV polluting diesel commercial vehicles can reduce vehicular emissions of respirable suspended particulates and nitrogen oxides by 80 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. As well as contributing towards the attainment of the new Air Quality Objectives that will take effect in 2014, the reduction can also reduce by half the cancer risk associated with exposure to diesel engine exhaust fumes.

The Regulation was tabled in the Legislative Council for negative vetting on October 30. Subject to the approval of the Council, the Regulation will take effect on February 1, 2014. After the passage of the Regulation, the Government will seek funding approval from the Finance Committee for the ex-gratia payments as soon as possible with a view to implementing the scheme in the first quarter of 2014. Details of the ex-gratia payment scheme will be sent to the registered owners of pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles before its commencement.

http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/news_events/press/press.html

Within the South East Asia Region each country has its own set of challenges and opportunities, driven by demographics such as Singapore for example, which is a small but technically advanced country and Vietnam which requires long-haul trucking to cover the distance between major cities but does not yet have world class infrastructure in place across the nation.

From this analysis there are several trends that can be identified. These will not only impact the trucking industry per se, but also how the transport sector will develop and address needs driven by customer demand.

Continued growth
Every trucking company we are talking to is expecting to increase sales of its vehicles. This increase in demand is a result of an incremental improvement in infrastructure and cross border services connecting South East Asian countries. Many ASEAN nations are moving towards developed nation status which will result in growing domestic demand for consumer products as expendable income increases. This will lead to an exponential increase in demand for transportation capacity with road networks providing the most direct and cost effective mode of transportation.

As an example of the importance of the region to truck manufacturers Volvo sold a total of 224, 017 trucks in 2012 of those 51, 514 were in Asia.

Increased connectivity and urbanisation
More roads are being built, better connectivity is provided. With that, more sophisticated distribution networks will be possible and required. Transportation solutions will call for a wider range of trucks to be used . While the road networks of countries in the region will improve and expand, allowing for better, faster and more effective transportation, continued urbanisation will pose challenges for the trucking industry. The Malaysian Government is expecting that 5% more people will live in cities by 2020 compared to today. Both, trucks and busses will need to be able to meet the requirements for both developments.

The full Asian Trucker article on the outlook for 2014 will be published in Cargonews Asia's January issue.

Technology, just like time, is speeding along and Ctrack – a specialist in vehicle tracking, fleet management and insurance telematics – is keeping pace.

The company has added a new product to its portfolio, called Ctrack On-the-Road (OTR), which is based on the Android platform and uses a full-colour touch screen to enhance driver experience.

"Ctrack is continually identifying and redefining innovative applications and future telematics trends," says Nick Vlok, CEO of DigiCore, supplier of Ctrack. "The concept of total fleet management is gathering momentum, offering deeper fleet analysis and a productive measure to improve operational efficiencies."

Ctrack points out that OTR is helping with this as it is a complete onboard messaging and navigation system that assists fleet operators to save time and money through advanced navigation, optimal route planning, voice functionality (allowing calls to predetermined numbers), task management and driver behaviour attributes. This helps to lessen distances travelled, thereby cutting fuel and maintenance costs.

But the system doesn’t only choose the shortest route as it uses real time traffic information to divert drivers away from congested roads. It also caters for the “big boys” as the onboard navigation can be set to include a truck's weight and size constraints as part of its route planning.

Ctrack OTR also has a built-in, front-view camera to record video and take snapshots in case of an accident to help determine what might have gone wrong. However, the company is promoting safety and better driving as the OTR's instant messaging service can only be accessed if the vehicle is stationary.

Ctrack states that the OTR communication system integrates seamlessly into a fleet and is easily configured into cars, vans, trucks and heavy-duty vehicles, providing an all-in-one vehicle tracking and fleet communications solution.