Volvo Malaysia ended 2012 on a positive note and once again reported strong growth in deliveries for 2012 with a total number of 339 units sold of which 301 were Volvo Trucks and 38 units of Renault Trucks. Compared to 238 units sold in 2011 (205 Volvo Trucks and 33 Renault Trucks), there has been a 42% increase in unit deliveries.

2012 has been a very good year for Volvo Malaysia’s truck business. From new customers to increasingly aggressive market share in Malaysia, Volvo is capitalizing on the infrastructure growth in Malaysia.

Despite the cautious global economy, 2012 has indeed been a significant year for Volvo Malaysia. Last year, the company focused on listening to their customers and using their insight to augment their business offerings in Malaysia. They augmented their breakdown support with fully equipped Action Service Vehicles and reduced their average response rate to a breakdown.

Additionally, Volvo also started faster repairs at the Shah Alam workshop for a quick turnaround time for trucks coming for repair. Beginning 2012, dedicated Fast Track bays were created for jobs that can be completed within 2 hours as well as pre-booking services to accommodate serious repairs and break-downs.

Engaging truck drivers lies at the core of Volvo’s corporate policy. Extending this philosophy to Malaysia, 2012 saw an increased and more frequent dialogue with truckers, starting with Fuelwatch Challenge 2012 – an annual challenge that has helped put Malaysian truckers on the global map for the past three years, pitting Malaysia’s local champions against the world’s best truck drivers.

The growth of Volvo’s automated manual transmission, I-Shift in Malaysia has been positively increasing and received well by customers with an increase of demand by 20% in 2012 compared to the previous year. Mansoor shares that “Coupled with Volvo’s competent sales force that is completely aligned with Volvo’s products and truly understands the local customer base, their requirements and challenges, we have noticed an increasing acceptance among our customers on the benefits of I-Shift. Some of these are reducing fuel costs, lower maintenance intervals, and the ease of drivability among others – issues that haulage companies found to be challenging.”

2012 also saw Volvo unveiling the arrival of its all new version of the popular FH Series truck in Europe. Fuel economy, reliability, ergonomics, superior handling, active and passive safety and time saving features – these are among the new features offered by Volvo Trucks latest FH Series.

For 2013, Mansoor is confident that the company will continue to grow in the commercial vehicle industry from more dealerships, expanded networks, trucker engagement and strong relationship with new and existing customers. “We are here for the long haul, given the critical role that Malaysia plays in our global business strategy,” Mansoor added.

More on this subject in our upcoming issue of Asian Trucker Malaysia.

We are also meeting up with Eric Labat, former Managing Director of Volvo Malaysia for an exclusive interview. Watch out for this coverage in the magazine.