26 Ogos 2019 menandakan ulang tahun ke-60 pelancaran trak paling laris Isuzu, iaitu ELF. Trak yang kini menjadi pilihan utama untuk segmen trak tugas ringan di peringkat antarabangsa telah mula diperkenalkan oleh Isuzu Motors Japan pada Ogos 1959. Trak ELF sememangnya terkenal kerana keteguhan, inovasi yang berterusan dan kualiti tertinggi yang ditawarkan.

Sepanjang kitaran evolusinya, trak ELF telah melalui pelbagai pembaharuan, selain mencapai beberapa ‘milestones’ yang penting. Pada 1959, generasi pertama yang diperkenalkan merupakan trak 2 tan dengan rekaan ‘cab-over’, beserta enjin petrol 1.5 liter. Hanya pada tahun berikutnya, iaitu 1960, enjin diesel 2 liter diperkenalkan, menjadikan pembaharuan ini yang terulung untuk kelasnya. Seterusnya, pada tahun 1967, ianya digantikan dengan generasi kedua, di mana model ‘Isuzu Light ELF’ dilancarkan, dengan kapasiti dan prestasi enjin yang dipermaju.

Pada tahun 1975, generasi ketiga mula dilancarkan, dan menawarkan pelbagai pembaharuan yang menarik, sehinggakan pada tahun 1978, Isuzu mencatat sejarah kerana berjaya menjual unit trak ELF yang ke-sejuta. Generasi ketiga ELF juga telah melalui beberapa penambahbaikan, dan pada tahun 1980, ia berjaya mencapai piawaian emisi 1979 Jepun, di samping mempunyai bentuk luaran yang telah diolah dan dilengkapkan dengan badan ‘cab’ yang boleh condong.

Tahun 1984 menandakan pencapaian baharu bagi Isuzu apabila generasi keempat yang dilancarkan mula dieksport dan dikilangkan di beberapa negara luar, termasuk Amerika Syarikat, Australia dan China. Selain pembaharuan luaran, generasi keempat juga menawarkan inovasi teknologi enjin, dari enjin diesel suntikan terus, ke enjin diesel turbo. Di samping itu, versi pacuan empat roda ELF 250 juga telah mula diperkenalkan.

Generasi kelima dilancarkan pada tahun 1993, dan telah mengetengahkan pelbagai pembaharuan, antaranya enjin diesel yang lebih bersih dan penggayaan luaran yang ketara. Sepanjang 60 tahun, trak ELF telah melalui penambahbaikan dan inovasi teknologi yang membanggakan, sehinggakan kini, generasi keenam tampil dengan penggayaan tersendiri, kabin yang kukuh namun ringan, transmisi enjin yang lebih lancar, dan enjin diesel turbo yang bersih namun berkuasa tinggi.

Di Malaysia, Isuzu mula memperkenalkan rangkaian traknya pada tahun 1979. Sejak itu, trak tugas ringan ELF telah menjadi pengangkutan pilihan bagi perniagaan yang memerlukan trak yang berkualiti dan dipercayai, selain menawarkan penjimatan minyak yang lebih efisien. Tambahan pula, pemasangan trak Isuzu dijalankan secara tempatan, di kilang pembuatan Isuzu HICOM Malaysia, di Pekan, Pahang.

Sejak diperkenalkan, siri ELF terus menguasai segmen trak tugas ringan di Malaysia. Jumlah jualannya telah banyak menyumbang ke arah Isuzu mengekalkan kedudukannya sebagai ‘CV Paling Laris Keseluruhan’ di Malaysia untuk lima tahun berturut-turut, di samping mengekalkan kedudukan ELF sebagai ‘Trak Paling Laris dalam Segmen Tugas Ringan’ selama sembilan tahun berturut-turut.

Di peringkat antarabangsa, jumlah pembuatan Siri ELF telah melebihi 6.5 juta unit, dan kini boleh didapati di 146 negara di seluruh dunia. Selain daripada prestasi jualan yang mengagumkan di Malaysia, Siri ELF juga telah berjaya mengekalkan kedudukannya sebagai No.1 dalam pasaran di 25 buah negara serata dunia.

Walaupun trak ELF dikenali kerana ketahanan, penambahbaikan produk yang berterusan serta kemajuan dalam teknologi diesel, namun di Malaysia, kepercayaan yang diberikan terhadap trak tugas ringan ini banyak berasaskan komitmen Isuzu dalam memastikan mutu kepuasan pelanggan yang tinggi. Melalui rangkaian pengedar sah serta pusat servis yang meluas, Isuzu Malaysia berbangga dapat menyediakan pengalaman selepas jualan yang terbaik, supaya rakan niaga dan pelanggan komersial mendapat perkhidmatan yang diperlukan, demi memastikan perniagaan mereka dapat berjalan dengan lancar dan lebih efisien.

Di Malaysia, Isuzu menawarkan pelbagai pilihan untuk trak tugas ringan ELF, dengan adanya 19 varian berbeza, antaranya 4-wheeler, 6-wheeler, 4x4 dan Crew-Cab, yang dilengkapkan dengan keluaran enjin dan prestasi yang menakjubkan, ruang dalaman yang berfungsi dan selesa, serta ciri-ciri keselamatan penting.

Isuzu Malaysia memperkukuhkan lagi kedudukannya sebagai sebuah jenama trak terkenal di Malaysia melalui pengenalan barisan model dan varian bagi trak Elf dan Forward terbaru yang sememangnya dipercayai sejak awal kerana kecekapan dan ketahanannya.

Barisan trak terbaru ini akan mula dijual untuk pasaran tempatan pada suku ketiga 2019 nanti dan dijangka akan dapat meningkatkan lagi perhatian terhadap jenama ini, terutama dalam segmen kenderaan tugasan ringan yang sebelum ini memang sudah menyaksikan Elf menjadi pelopor utama bagi tempoh sembilan tahun berturut-turut.

Dikenali sebagai operator trak di seluruh dunia untuk jentera kerja yang dipercayai serta berprestasi tinggi dengan kos penggunaan dan penyelenggaraan yang rendah, Isuzu Elf juga merupakan satu daripada trak yang mampu memberikan kepelbagaian penggunaan dalam pasaran, dengan menawarkan11 varian yang berbeza bersesuaian dengan keperluan pelanggan yang lebih meluas.

Dengan kepelbagaian barisan model dan varian yang ditawarkan bagi tahun 2019 ini, Isuzu Malaysia akan mempunyai 19 varian bagi model Elf yang merangkumi versi empat roda, enam roda, 4x4 dan Crew-Cab, menjadikannya barisan jentera komersial dengan pilihan paling banyak dalam pasaran ketika ini.

"Dengan pilihan yang banyak ini, pelanggan atau pengendali trak boleh memilih trak Isuzu yang paling menepati keperluan operasi perniagaan mereka terus dari pengeluar, berbanding terpaksa membeli trak siap yang tidak bersesuaian untuk tujuan berkenaan," jelas Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Isuzu Malaysia, Koji Nakamura.

Bagi memenuhi keperluan perniagaan yang banyak menggunakan pengangkutan mereka di dalam bandar dengan keadaan trafik sesak, model trak yang dilengkapi dengan ciri "Smoother", iaitu varian dengan Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) enam-kelajuan turut ditawarkan dalam pasaran.

Menawarkan manfaat penuh sistem transmisi automatik dengan daya tahan dan kos yang rendah seperti transmisi manual, "Smoother" memberikan banyak kelebihan, misalnya dengan cara mengelakkan kehilangan tenaga akibat penyusutan hidraulik.

Tambahan pula, "Smoother" berkenaan akan menetapkan kedudukan gear yang paling sesuai dalam keadaan pemanduan dari semasa ke semasa. Ini bertujuan untuk memastikan putaran enjin (rpm) kekal dalam julat yang optimum dan seterusnya secara tidak langsung akan melanjutkan jangka hayat enjin dan sistem janaan kuasanya. Model-model dengan ciri "Smoother" ini, juga turut dilengkapi ialah Mod ECONO yang boleh dipilih oleh pemandu untuk menukarkan rpm lebih rendah secara automatik, sekaligus memberikan lebih banyak penjimatan bahan api.

Walaupun harga model "Smoother" ini lebih tinggi, pemilik perniagaan akan menikmati kos operasi yang lebih rendah sebagai ganjarannya, memandangkan mekanisme berkenaan tidak tertakluk kepada kehausan komponen. Selain itu, tugas untuk mencari dan menggajikan pemandu juga menjadi lebih senang kerana ia merupakan jentera automatik; agak sukar untuk mendapatkan pemandu yang boleh memandu trak manual kini. Bagi pemandu pula, ciri "Smoother" ini akan mengurangkan rasa letih ketika memandu, membolehkan mereka untuk memberikan tumpuan yang lebih baik sepanjang waktu kerja.

Dengan percambahan platform perniagaan elektronik, Isuzu Elf menawarkan penyelesaian terbaik bagi peningkatan kadar penghantaran yang memerlukan daya tahan dan kecekapan jentera pengangkutan yang digunakan. Enjin bagi model "Smoother" ini menepati piawaian Euro 3, membolehkan Elf menjadi trak yang bukan sahaja cekap, tetapi lebih mesra alam sekaligus.

Isuzu Malaysia turut memperkenalkan tiga varian Crew-Cab dalam barisan 2019 ini. Secara keseluruhannya ada empat model dalam segmen berkenaan, pengguna yang beroperasi di dalam industri perkhidmatan akan mendapati bahawa adalah lebih mudah untuk mengangkut tenaga kerja dan barangan mereka dengan lebih cekap dan selamat menggunakan trak Isuzu jenis ini.

Tidak seperti kenderaan Crew-Cab lain dengan pemasangan after-market yang cenderung menghadapi masalah pemasangan yang tidak kemas, jentera Crew-Cab Isuzu sebaliknya direka di pusat R&D Isuzu menggunakan teknologi terkini, dibina serta dipasangkan sepenuhnya di kilang Isuzu; menjadikannya menepati piawaian ECE tertinggi serta dilindungi oleh jaminan penuh oleh Isuzu sendiri.

Forward: Lebih kukuh dan tahan lasak

Barisan trak Forward, yang menjadi pilihan dalam kalangan pemandu trak jarak jauh disebabkan kos penggunaannya yang rendah, pengendalian mudah serta kabin yang selesa turut dipertingkatkan bagi versi 2019 dengan casis yang lebih kukuh dan prestasi lebih baik.

Model FVR34 kini berkapasiti GVW sebanyak 19 tan, lebih tinggi berbanding kapasiti 18 tan ketika ini. Kapasiti muatan yang dipertingkatkan ini tidak hanya membolehkan pengendali untuk memaksimumkan kapasiti setiap kali perjalanan, ia juga dapat mengurangkan kos pengangkutan secara keseluruhan. Selain itu, pengendalian mudah barisan trak Forward menjadikannya sangat sesuai untuk pengangkutan antara bandar tanpa perlu untuk memunggah muatan ke dalam kenderaan lebih kecil bagi tujuan agihan penghantaran seterusnya. Kapasiti gandar depan juga telah dipertingkatkan kepada 7,500 kg, menyumbang kepada kapasiti muatan keseluruhan yang lebih baik.

Melengkapi peningkatan muatan berkenaan ialah penggunaan unit enjin 6HK-TC yang telah dikemaskinikan untuk menghasilkan kuasa sebanyak 300 PS dan 986 Nm tork bagi model FVR300, menawarkan prestasi mengkagumkan untuk kegunaan jalan raya di Malaysia, terutama pada laluan berbukit.

Sebagai gandingan kepada naik taraf enjin pada model FVR300 berkenaan, ia juga kini dipadankan dengan transmisi Eaton. Menggunakan sembilan-kelajuan termasuk gear rendah “crawler” untuk permukaan laluan yang mencabar, nisbah transmisi baru ini melengkapi prestasi yang dijana oleh enjin berkenaan dengan lebih baik. Ini memberikan prestasi keseluruhan yang lebih anjal ketika rpm enjin kekal berada dalam zon optimum.

Isuzu Malaysia juga memilih untuk mengekalkan model popular FVR240 dalam barisan trak terbaru yang ditawarkan ini bagi mereka yang memerlukan kapasiti kargo yang luas, tetapi untuk kegunaan jarak dekat, misalnya seperti perniagaan trak makanan atau untuk tujuan mengangkut perabot.

Bagi mengekalkan tahap keselamatan yang tinggi, barisan model FVR34 pula kini datang dengan brek udara penuh dan Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) sebagai ciri standard. Peningkatan prestasi brek amat ketara berserta ciri ABS membantu untuk mengekalkan kawalan ketika membrek, terutama pada permukaan licin.

Naik taraf lain pada barisan trak Forward termasuk altenator dengan kapasiti yang lebih besar yang mampu memenuhi keperluan penggunaan kuasa peralatan elektrik ampere tinggi.

Barisan trak komersial Isuzu bagi tahun 2019 ini akan mula dipasarkan dan boleh didapati di semua 43 cawangan sah Isuzu seluruh negara pada suku ketiga 2019.

MAN Truck & Bus, one of Europe’s strong brands has decided to cement its commitment to the Thai Market. As of 1st November 2019, MAN SE will appoint MAN Truck & Bus Asia Pacific – the head office of AREA APAC to be the sole distributor for Thailand to represent the company in the region. MAN SE is to work closely with local business partners to promote high quality products and fully efficient performance to support Thailand as a growth market.

Mr. Thilo Halter has many years of international experience in leading positions in various functions and industries. He has been in Asia Pacific for MAN since 2007, starting here as CFO Asia Pacific, then as Managing Director of MAN Truck & Bus Korea, and since 2015 as Managing Director of MAN Truck & Bus China.

With the ambitious targets of MAN-Simply#1 globally, Mr. Thilo Halter takes the new challenge, as Head of Sales Area Asia Pacific starting from July 1st, 2019. In an exclusive interview, Halter told Asian Trucker about their ambitions.

AT: What is the sales area handled by MAN APAC?
TH: It is, of course Asian Pacific, comprising of actually all of Asia as well as the Pacific Rim area with Australia and New Zealand in it.

Of course, the most important countries in terms of size, but not politically, are China, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand with Singapore and Hong Kong also being important. Cambodia and Japan for example have not been really developed by us as markets, but that might change in the near future too.

AT: Why is it needed to have a dedicated hub to handle this region?
TH: This is a good question. We used to have a regional set-up, it was the time when I started in Asia Pacific, back in 2007. It was the regional operational headquarters for Asia Pacific. About four years ago it was decided that the regions will be dissolved. There were regions anymore. There were our subsidiaries, the NSCs (National Sales Companies) and importer companies that are handled directly from Germany. The idea was that the headquarters in Germany could deal directly with the markets, addressing their needs. That is why we took out the regional centres.

However, we realised that it doesn’t work that way. The management and decision-making power need to be close to the customer. That is why we have decided as of 1 July 2019 to establish the area. In essence, it is a regional centre, but with a different content. What is different now is that the decision making is with the region and that the regional centre is fully responsible for the P/L and the steering of the business.

There is also now a strong team, with some staff located here and some in China, plus others in Germany. This is to ensure that we can implement best practices, for instance from China, in an effective way. In addition, we have people on the Ground in Germany, who report directly report to us and ensuring that we get things done quickly and efficiently. This has never been done this way.

AT: What is the responsibility of the area office, which is based in Thailand?
TH: As the area headquarters, this is the place where all of us work on regional tasks. That means, this team here, plus the teams in China and Germany are steering the NSCs and the importers in all the countries in the area. “Steering” means that our targets are met and that the customers are taken care of. This is to be done in a fast manner and we have to ensure that have the right products for each market, as indicated through our marketing.

With “steering” also comes the support of the partners. There is a strong after-sales team that helps importers as well as our own sales offices to act fast.

AT: What are the expectations you have after this restructuring?
TH: Firstly, we expect to contribute to the growth of the brand. This area, the markets within are growing. If you look at the world however, you will notice that Europe is not growing. There is ups and downs, but it is more or less the same number of trucks sold. In APAC however, we have a huge growth potential. And of course, we want to take part in that. However, if a market is just growing, you can grow with it by just doing things the way you have always done.

That is, for us, though, not satisfying. We want to outperform the market. We want to outgrow the market and increase our market share. This is also reflected in the strategy that we coined “MAN - Simply #1”, which I will explain later.

What does the MAN – Simply #1 mean? We want to become the number one in Asia Pacific, which does not mean that we are always the market leader. However, it is an ambition, just like a soccer coach is telling the team they are going to a match to win and not to lose. The ultimate goal is to be number one in customer satisfaction. MAN wants to be number one in terms of reputation and image in the market. Also, we would want to be the number one in employee happiness. Happy employers lead to happy customers, and that IS important.

The result of all of that is hopefully that we will become the number one in market share as well, but as I said, that is not the intention of the strategy as the main goal. There is more to this, actually. As you see, the “S” in the slogan is red. This represents the sales organisation. Plus, the word “Simply” comes from our internal ambition to simplify business.

We have competitors that each have their own brand claims. They have theirs and ours is to simplify business. This, for me, is the holy grail of customer focus as it puts the customer in the first position. Our goal is to simplify the business of our customers. It needs to be made easy to deal with us, to have an easy sales process, after sales which is easy to deal with, the best uptime and ultimately, doing business with us is the easiest and therefore the most value-creating way. At the end of it, I believe, if you are the most supportive brand, the result will be success. And that is done through putting the customer at the number one. Which also aligns the organisation.

AT: That said, is the area APAC any different from other areas in MAN?
TH: Within MAN, we have five areas, whereas there are three in Europe, where our main business is. Besides that, we have one area for middle East and Latin America and the other one is APAC. I have to say that the APAC region is very different. There are different climates, different product requirements and also different products. We have different customer needs and markets are in various development stages. For instance, we have everything from EURO II to EURO VI homologation.

The first thing I have learned when I moved here (to Bangkok), is that there is no one Asia and that there are more differences between the Asian countries than there are between European countries. There are big differences in terms of habit, religion, local customs and other aspects. Thus, we need to handle each market individually. Frankly, this was not fully comprehended in our German headquarters previously. The question how you deal with each market as they are vastly different requires deep insights into each market. And these differences create a lot of complexity. Just as one example, our service staff needs to be knowledgeable in EURO II as well as in EURO VI technology. We have left hand drive and right-hand drive. Remember, in Europe, we have one legislation only while we have different legislation in each Chinese province. In summary: highly complex!

To address these challenges, we need to have a good team, comprised of a mix of diverse people from the various countries. And we need to get the Germans back home to understand this and we need this diverse team to understand the local markets. That said, we see a lot of similarities as well and that is why we have the best practice sharing initiatives in place. The basic needs of a customer is the same everywhere. And isolating this also gives us a chance to simplify our processes and what we have to change. Once I know what is important, we can copy and paste it to other countries. That is why, I am still the Managing Director of the China operations for instance.

AT: How does the implementation of the best practices work then?
TH: In China, we have tripled the business in the past three years. That means we have done the right things to push forward. These ideas and concepts we have developed there are now being presented to other markets as an offer. It is a proposal, a best practice and each NSC is to work with the local sales organisation to see if these concepts make sense. There is no point just bulldozing them through in a market where it doesn’t make sense. But if we have a good way how to organise our sales in China, then maybe we can tweak it a bit and implement it in Thailand, correct?

Another example would be the excellent vehicle hand-over process we have in South Korea. It is almost as if that is a specialty for Korea. It works so well as all customers would come to one particular place in Korea. Clients do not collect their vehicle from the dealers, but in that one space. As a result, this has become a centre of excellence for hand-over. And now we can use this as a learning hub for other countries as to how to do hand-overs. We can look at these issues and roll them out in the region.

And while you can be very good, there is always something that you can learn from others. And that keeps you humble, open and attentive.

AT: MAN is better known for their buses in Thailand and Singapore (for instance). What are you planning to do to strengthen the truck segment?
TH: This is right, and in addition we are very strong in Hong Kong with the buses. You are also right that we have to catch up in a number of markets for the trucks. I see this as an opportunity as we can grow, and we have the luxury of having the best product. While everyone says that, we can actually prove it. This is not just about the trucks, but also about how we are organised. It is about how our network is organised, how we treat our distributors and clients. Here we have a clear vision and strategy and we will implement new procedures; train people and we will need to increase the footprint in the market. Coming up with competitive pricing is one issue. You need to have CKD options to be competitive.

I expect us to be in a leading position within the next three years. Yes, there are some obstacles, but I am confident that we can get there. We have managed to increase sales from 150 to over 1 000 units in Korea. I am sure we know what to do.

AT: What are your plans for the service network? How are you going to address the needs of the market in Thailand now that you are severing your ties with your partner?
TH: There are two dimensions to it. The first is the importer level. I think we are already in the right countries, but we need to improve the service of both, the own subsidiaries as well as the private dealers. What we need to do next is to map out a plan for each country. Within five years, we want to have the number one network.

In Thailand we have realised that you need to be very close the customers. Running ten different businesses does not allow for this customer focus. That is why we have decided to become the importer ourselves. At the same time, in Thailand, you need to be local and we will continue to work with local partners for both, the sales side as well as the after sales. We have identified locations for our service network and have found suitable partners. We are now rolling this out and our customers do not have to be afraid that they will not get the support they require. We have existing partners and we will continue working with them, strengthening them. That said, we will only keep a small number of dealers.

AT: Now that we addressed the facilities, how about spare parts and uptime?
TH: Our central warehouse is in Germany and even with airfreight we would need several days to get them here. Hence, we need to ensure that we stock enough, and the correct parts here in the country. When I was responsible for after sales in China, I asked for a daily report on spare parts availability. Just looking at them, however, is not good enough. The availability needs to improve. Naturally, you cannot achieve 100 percent, but you need to keep it at 95 percent. Following that, you look at the stocks that the dealers keep. That way, you can have parts send to anywhere in China within a day.

And now you walk in the shoes of the customer. If you cannot provide the parts, then your trucks are not running and that would give the MAN brand a bad name. Now, my after sales manager sits right next to me here in the office. We are now looking for a location for a central warehouse here and his KPI is very simple: 95 percent parts availability. This will not be done overnight, but eventually we will get there. And that is a promise that I want to make.

AT: Will we see any enrichment of the product portfolio, especially with low consumption vehicles?
TH: I would say that this is the very definition of our trucks as they are very fuel efficient. That is one of the tasks for our engineers as we want to have the most fuel efficient and most reliable trucks in the market. We need to remember that a difference of a few percent in fuel consumption is translating into a huge savings over the year.

Every truck that arrives here is equipped with the latest technology, just as we are selling them in Europe. The only difference is in the homologation for the emission norms, as the applicable standards still vary vastly.

While others might opt for local assembly, there is a danger that the quality will suffer. If you produce a small number of vehicles, with locally sourced parts, you cannot keep the quality level up as you do in the home market. For us, we do not compromise on quality. At the same time, we are looking at the import cost for CKD sets, too.

AT: What are the challenges you anticipate for this area?
TH: To be honest: a lot! There are local issue and overarching challenges we need to tackle. Firstly, it is about the products, which need to be adjusted to the local markets. That concerns wheelbases, length, height and others. These adjustments need to be made and they actually have a huge impact on the customer’s business. This is a difficult task, but we will be able to respond to this with our local product planning team.

The next thing is then the network. We have to improve in about all markets. MAN has to improve in terms of both, quality and quantity, whereby the latter is even more important. It is our duty to ensure that anyone repairing a truck or bus is qualified to do so and we have already started to up the training quantum.

The third issue is the brand perception. German products are well known. Our advantage is that we can draw upon this positive perception of these brands to build our brand. If you ask anyone in Germany if they know MAN, they surely will. Out here in Thailand, hardly anyone would know the brand. Even in our industry itself, where many know the MAN brand, the name is not as well known as we want it to be. It has even noted that even those that know the brand have a different perception of it or a wrong understanding of it. They may have the wrong knowledge, which is purely our fault, not theirs. MAN is a company with over 260 years of history. However, here we have only been for a relatively short period of time compared to that. Hence, improving brand visibility, brand recognition and brand reputation is a clear focus here in Asia Pacific.

What we can see is that the Thai market is dominated by Japanese brands. However, we see that these brands are competing on price. In Europe we see that the customers have a different approach and requirements. There, reliability and the services surrounding the truck are more important than a low cost to invest in trucks. Take e-commerce for instance: you have to deliver on time. Otherwise you will not be in business very long. This is an opportunity for us as the requirements of users change here as well. Our customers cannot afford to have unreliable trucks, and this is where high-quality vehicles are needed, and European trucks will be the stars. This is not just applicable to Thailand, but all over Asia.

AT: As many countries are connected by land, what is the status of the connectivity for trucks?
TH: MAN is leading in terms of connected vehicles. In Europe we have a fleet of connected trucks, which are in operation every day. They are connected by a specially connected and secured internet and they are operating as a platoon whereby you don’t need the drivers in the second or third vehicle. It is not so much a problem of the technology, but one of legislation. But clearly, MAN is the leader in this field.

AT: In your view, what is the single most important thing that the government(s) should do.
TH: It is the creation of a single ASEAN market in terms of logistics. It should be possible to easily drive a truck from Singapore, with Singaporean registration through China or even to Europe, then we have achieved something. There is no problem to drive from the Netherlands to Russia. Everything is clear: registration, insurance and how summons are being enforced. This is what we need here, and it must start in south east Asia.

Also, a very important point for me is to create a “real” ASEAN. There is one, in theory. But if you are now producing goods in one country, you should be able to export this into other countries. However, today there are obstacles, like import quotas or CKD requirements that differ from country to country. In Indonesia you would need a local partner for CKD production as one example. These restrictions impact the truck and bus makers as they are small producers.

AT: If you could sum up the direction you are taking for MAN in Thailand?
TH: Very simple: A straight line. A straight line up in terms of sales, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction.

Kementerian Pengangkutan Malaysia (MOT) akan menganjurkan Karnival Kerjaya dan Pendidikan (Sektor Pengangkutan) 2019 yang akan diadakan di Palm Mall Seremban, di sini selama dua hari bermula esok.

Karnival yang julung kali diadakan ini dengan anjuran bersama dengan kerjasama Kerajaan Negeri Sembilan dan JobsMalaysia Negeri Sembilan akan menghimpunkan pelbagai majikan dan menawarkan pelbagai pekerjaan dengan pelbagai pengisian menarik termasuk temuduga terbuka, pameran jabatan, agensi dan ‘ceramah kerjaya’ dari majikan terpilih.

“Karnival ini akan disertai oleh hampir 40 majikan yang akan turut menjalankan temuduga terbuka serta menawarkan kira-kira 4,000 kekosongan perjawatan. Antara majikan yang akan menyertai karnival ini ialah Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, AirAsia, Malindo Air, Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas, PUSPAKOM, Touch N Go dan banyak lagi.

“Antara jawatan yang ditawarkan pula adalah seperti Pemandu Prime Mover, Mekanik Jentera Ringan & Berat, Pemandu Bas, Pemeriksa Kenderaan, jawatan- jawatan eksekutif, jawatan dalam bidang jualan, jurutera, programmer, kru penerbangan dan pelbagai lagi,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan di sini, hari ini.

Menurut kenyataan itu, gaji yang ditawarkan juga adalah sangat kompetitif dan mengikut pasaran semasa di mana ada jawatan yang menawarkan gaji sehingga RM15 000.

“Di samping majikan, karnival ini juga akan turut disertai oleh jabatan dan agensi di bawah MOT seperti Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ), Jabatan Laut Malaysia (JLM), Perbadanan Aset Keretapi (RAC), Lembaga-Lembaga Pelabuhan, Pihak Berkuasa Penerbangan Awam Malaysia (CAAM) dan lain-lain lagi yang akan memberikan makumat menarik mengenai perkhidmatan yang dilaksanakan oleh jabatan/agensi kepada orang awam,” katanya.

MOT seterusnya merakamkan penghargaan Kerajaan Negeri Sembilan terutamanya kepada Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Bertindak Sumber Manusia, Perladangan dan Hal Ehwal Bukan Islam, Negeri Sembilan J. Arul Kumar dan JobsMalaysia Negeri Sembilan kerana telah bersama- sama MOT dalam menjayakan program dua hari ini.

Karnival itu akan bermula dari pukul 10.00 pagi hingga 5.00 petang.