TRUCKMAKERS´ NEWS WORLDWIDE * Japan - Isuzu restarts Japanese truck production

Fujisawa-shi,Kanagawa,Japan -Fleet Owner -Apr 5, 2011: -- Isuzu Motors Ltd. has resumed production at its Fujisawa truck plant, according to its U.S. subsidiary, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America. Production at the plant had been suspended since March 11 when Japan suffered a severe earthquake and tsunami... The Fujisawa plant builds the Isuzu N-Series truck, engine and components for North America and other global markets. On March 28, plant engineers began testing production equipment for possible damage from the quake. According to Ryozo Tsukioka, exec. VP and director of Isuzu Motors, plans call for ramping up production gradually “because parts supply and the availability of electricity remain inconsistent,” according to a press announcement from ICTA... (Photo: Isuzu's Fujisawa plant aerial view)

* Belgium - Volvo Trucks engages 200 people in Ghent

(Video from Youtube, by AutoMotoTV -30 May 2008: Volvo Cars factory in Gent, Belgium)

Ghent,Belgium -Truck & Business, by Michael Buck -1 April 2011: -- The manufacturer Volvo Trucks announces increased production and employment and investment of nearly 25 million euros to support the growth of the plant in Ghent. From next August, the production Volvo Europa Truck in Ghent and go to 144 vehicles per day. To achieve this, 200 new employees will be hired as engineers and technicians. The assembly hall has been expanded to include 4,000 m2...

* Sweden - Euro 6 engine Scania arrives

Gotheborg,Sweden -Truck &  Business, by Hendrik Despiegelaere -31 March 2011: -- Scania launches its first engines comply with Euro 6...   Scania proposes two alternative Euro 6, for trucks series G and R, the 13-liter engine will be available in 440 and 480 hp, which covers most of the applications of long-haul and construction...  The biggest difference is a brand new exhaust after-treatment of exhaust gases, now integrated into the exhaust itself. This system, built in a quiet, includes an oxidation catalyst, particulate filter and a dual system of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts and auxiliary ammonium AdBlue dosing advanced (AdBlue consumption does is only 3 to 4% of that of diesel) which lowers emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NOx). According to Euro 6, these emissions were reduced by 80% compared to Euro 5 engines...

* India - Ashok Leyland eyes top-10 global truck makers list

Chennai,India -Press Trust of India/SmartInvestor -4 Apr 2011: -- Hinduja group flagship company Ashok Leyland today said it is adopting a three-pronged strategy to break into the lists of top-10 global truck manufacturers and top five bus makers in the next 5-10 years... Newly-appointed company Managing Director, Vinod K Dasari, told reporters today, the company would work on three strategies -- focusing on delivering quality products, developing and managing people, and leveraging the value of products by adopting new branding exercise... Talking about future plans, he said the company had set a target of selling around 1.10 lakh to 1.20 lakh units during this financial year (2011-12)... He said the company had ramped up the capacity of its Pant Nagar facility to produce 30,000-40,000 vehicles from next year from the present 2,600 units... (Photo from roadtransport/big-lorry-blog: Ashok Leyland U-thumb)

* Europe - EU CV registrations on the increase

Brussels,Belgium -HGV UK -April 1, 2011: -- New commercial vehicle registrations amounted to 141,914 units in the European Union in February, an increase of 16.8 per cent on the same month last year... All segments posted growth, except buses and coaches. The month counted on average the same number of working days across the region compared to February 2010... From January to February, new registrations increased by 18.5 per cent, compared with the same period a year ago, totaling 290,695 units. Growth occurred across categories... (Photo: Trucks are seen detained in a truck parking of the La Jonquera border in Gerona, Catalonia, northeastern Spain, 10 June 2008)

TRUCKMAKERS' LAWSUIT * Europe - EU starts antitrust probe into truckmakers

Brussels,Belgium -Reuters, by Karolina Tagaris, & Gary Hill -Mar 3, 2011: -- European antitrust officials are investigating allegations that some of the world's biggest truckmakers have fixed prices and delivery times for more than a decade, the Financial Times said on Friday... Germany's MAN Group and Daimler, Sweden's Volvo AB and Scania and Italy's Iveco are among the companies investigated, while the probe does not appear to include Britain, where a separate investigation was launched last year, the FT said, citing unnamed sources close to the situation... The newspaper said MAN, which claims to have uncovered the scheme spanning half a dozen European countries, had alerted the European Commission. It is likely to escape a penalty after acting as a whistleblower in the case, it added... MAN declined comment. Daimler, Volvo, Scania and Iveco were not immediately reachable...

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * Germany - Volkswagen's Bulli concept revives memories of the Kombi

An urban electric all-purpose vehicle

(Picture: The Volkswagen Bulli Concept from the 2011 Geneva Motor Show)

Wolfsburg,Germany -Gizmag, by Mike Hanlon -March 2, 2011: -- Volkswagen is reprising the iconic Microbus/Kombi wagon surfaced in Geneva. The new 'Bulli' concept offers a flexible layout, seating for six, a 40 kWh lithium-ion battery, an 85 kW electric motor with 260 Nm torque,140 km/h (87 mph) top speed and a range of 300 km (186 miles). There's still not enough range just yet for a serious escape vehicle – if there's no electricity available where you're going, you're on a 90 mile leash – but suitable as an urban electric all-purpose vehicle...  The all-new 'Bulli' concept is not in effect all-new...  The electric Bulli will probably not be the first of this shape available, as VW pointed out that both petrol and diesel direct injection engines can be accommodated by the front-wheel-drive design...

Like many vehicles in Geneva, the tablet or iPad has been used in the center console as a multifunctional touchscreen interface and controller. In the Bulli, it acts as an interface for Internet-based applications, the media and entertainment functionality of the vehicles' telephone and navigation...

* UK - Electric van maker Modec runs out of juice

(Picture: A Modec-2010-bg3)

Coventry,UK -VansA2Z, by Neil McIntee -4 March 2011: -- Set up in 2004, Coventry-based electric light commercial vehicle manufacturer Modec has gone into administration following poor sales and growing debts. Half of the workforce has been made redundant... Modec secured a £23m grant from the US government in 2009 to build electric vans for the North American market in conjunction with US truck manufacturer Navistar. Founder Lord Borwick said the deal had not produced as many orders as he expected and only 400 vehicles had been made since its launch in 2007... Prior to going into administration it was hoped that stakeholder and partner Navistar would bail-out the UK company. It may still be in the frame, but perhaps a more likely scenario is that Chinese companies will be eyeing-up the hi-tech zero carbon LCV technology with the intention of shipping production overseas...

* UK - Liberty Electric Cars set to free Modec commercial vehicles failure

Coventry,UK -Transport Engineer -9 March 2011: -- Following news that Coventry-based electric commercial vehicle maker Modec has entered administration, making half its workforce redundant, Liberty Electric Cars CEO Barry Shrier is attempting a rescue... Modec was founded by Lord Jamie Borwick in 2004 and is widely regarded as among leaders in the electric commercial vehicle market, and one of the most promising low-carbon business opportunities for the West Midlands... However, when takeover talks with American partner Navistar failed, the company had to call in the administrators...

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * Europe - Vehicle production up 15% over 9 months in 2010

Brussels,Bekguyn -ACEA -23 December 2010:  --  Total vehicle production in the EU rose by 15% in the first nine months of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. Passenger car production increased by 13%, reflecting a drop of 5% in the third quarter in correlation with the softening momentum in the global economy. Production levels in the segment of vans expanded in all three quarters of 2010. The segment of trucks started to show signs of recovery only in the second quarter, when production increased by 57%, and continued this trend in the third quarter when new truck registrations also began to be positive again...  Three quarters into 2010, a total of 12.6 million motor vehicles were produced in the EU, which is 15% more than over the same period last year. Compared to the pre-crisis level of the first three quarters of 2008, total production was down 14%. New passenger car production in the EU grew in the first half year before contracting by 5% in the third quarter, in correlation with the drop observed in new registrations. Three quarters into the year, production of cars was up 13% compared to the same period last year, but down 11% compared to the first three quarters of 2008. Production of vans increased throughout the first three quarters of this year. However, compared to the levels of 2008, output levels were still down 29%. Truck production continued to decrease in the first quarter of this year, before rebounding in the second and third but still remaining well below the level before the crisis (-53%)...  Germany remained the largest manufacturing country, both for motor vehicles and passenger cars, the production of which expanded by 15% and 14% respectively. While 36.4% of new cars were produced in Germany, Spain, as well as France, accounted for 12.9%, followed by the UK (8.3%), the Czech Republic (7.1%), Poland (5.7%), Italy (3.9%) and Slovakia (3.6%)...

* Europe - Commercial Vehicles: Registrations up 8% in 2010

Brussels,Belgium -ACEA -25 Jan 2011:  --  In December, demand for new commercial vehicles continued to increase (+12.5%) across segments, except for buses and coaches (-1.4%). Cumulative results from January to December also showed the expansion of the EU markets for vans and trucks while registrations of buses and coaches declined, leading to an overall 8.0% growth in the region.

* New Light Commercial Vehicles up to 3.5t – “vans”

In December, new van registrations were up 8.4%. Germany (+33.6%), the UK (+21.9%) and France (+6.4%) contributed most to the upturn. Italy and Spain saw their markets decrease by 7.1% and 2.7% respectively. Over twelve months, registrations of new vans amounted to 1,488,848 units, or 8.7% more than in 2009. All majors markets posted growth, ranging from +6.2% in Italy to 8.8% in Spain, 11.5% in France, 16.0% in Germany and 19.5% in the UK. The steepest downturn was recorded in Slovakia (-56.0%) while the Swedish market expanded the most (+38.3%).

* New Heavy Commercial Vehicles over 16t (excluding Buses &Coaches) – “heavy trucks”

The segment of heavy trucks posted the strongest increase in December (+70.2%) coming from the low levels recorded in December 2009 (-39.4%). All major markets posted growth. Germany remained the largest one with 4,496 heavy trucks registered, followed by France (2,842 units), the UK (2,220), Spain (960) and Italy (904). From January to December, demand for heavy trucks grew by 8.4% in the EU, sustained by the Spanish (+22.1%), German (+21.4%) and British (+5.0%) markets. Italy (-3.4%) and France (-1.4%) performed slightly less well in 2010 than in 2009.

* New Commercial Vehicles over 3.5t (excluding Buses &Coaches) – “trucks”

In December, registrations of new trucks increased by 47.8% in the EU. Looking at the largest markets, France (+50.9%), the UK (+51.6%) and Germany (+57.4%) performed similarly, posting strong growths. Italy and Spain expanded by 18.6% and 15.0% respectively. Over 2010, a total of 249,869 new trucks were registered in the EU, or 6.4% more than in 2009. Results were mixed across countries as registrations slipped by 0.8% and 0.9% in the UK and France, while they were down 5.0% in Italy and up 12.1% and 19.7% in Spain and Germany respectively.

* New Buses & Coaches over 3.5t

The segment of buses and coaches was the only one to decline in December (-1.4%), in spite of positive results observed in Spain (+32.0%) and Italy (+74.7%). The downturn ranged from -18.1% in Germany to -22.4% in the UK and -33.9% in France. From January to December, registrations of new buses and coaches fell by 10.4%. Italy was the only significant market to post growth (+24.5%) while Germany (-7.0%), Spain (-8.2%), the UK (-13.2%) and France (-20.5%) all saw their markets contract.

* Sweden - Scania is king of the test – again:   “… with the result that Scania wins the fuel consumption evaluation by a comfortable margin”

(Photo from scanianewsroom: the Scania G 420 is best in class)

Södertälje,Sweden -Scania Social Media News Room -18 Feb 2011: -- Scania has again captured first place in Europe’s 1,000 Point Test,  one of Europe’s largest comparative truck tests and, according to many, the toughest...  Scania was the overall winner, earning a total of 941 – nine points ahead of the closest contender...  Omnibus and Fernfahrer, the 1,000 Point Test is carried out in cooperation with Spain’s Transporte Mundial, Great Britain’s Commercial Motor and the Netherlands’ Truckstar...  The test runs along a 180-kilometre route in south-west Germany, a hilly part of the scenic Mosel valley...  In the 1,000 Point Test that took place in late 2010, the focus was to compare fleet trucks producing around 400 hp. A Scania G 420 Highline faced three other tractors: a Mercedes Axor 1840 LS with 396 hp, a MAN TGS 18.400 LX with 394 hp and a Volvo FM 410 Globetrotter with 405 hp...  The Scania G-series tractor received especially high points in the economy, performance and cab categories. In economy, the Scania almost reached a perfect score – 133 out of 135 points...  In addition to economy, Scania received high marks for driver appeal and the cab...