Volvo, Fuso, Scania and Yuejin Expand in Asia

Some Asian news.According to this report, Volvo Malaysia is seeing strong truck market demand and is forecasting 2007 sales of around 350 units. "The demand for trucks in Malaysia remains strong in a very competitive market," said Goran Nyberg, Managing Director, as quoted on Business Times Malaysia. Volvo currently has around 13 per cent of the overall Malaysian market, and its products account for around 33 per cent of the tractor unit business

From Indonesia comes news that Mitsubishi-Fuso has launched the Canter light-duty model. Assembled locally by PT Krama Yudha Ratu Motors (KRM) and PT Mitsubishi Krama Yudha Motors and Manufacturing (MKM), last year's Indonesian Canter sales exceeded 19000 units, making the country Fuso's biggest single export market after Taiwan. Nation-wide sales of all weights of commercial vehicles, particularly trucks, declined in Indonesia by 40 percent between 2005 and 2006, from 448,000 units to 320,000. However, sales are expected to rise by 20 per cent this year on the back of stable macroeconomic conditions. From Vietnam comes the news that the Ha Giang Electro-Mechanical Joint stock Company (EMC) has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China's Yuejin Automobile Import-Export Company, selling a 10 per cent stake to the Chinese partner. This deal will result in the manufacture of trucks, dump trucks, vans and cars, as well as the import and trade in Mechanical Handling Equipment. In 2007 EMC aims to produce some 1,000 trucks of less than five tons. Yuejin is closely tied to Iveco's business in China. At the same time, Scania, along with the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (TKV), and the TKV Automobile Company have produced their first batch of Vietnamese-assembled trucks. Six Euro 2 units with a capacity of 39 tonnes and with a retail value of US$150,000 each are the first vehicles to roll off the line. TKV plans to establish a Scania truck warranty centre in order to support future business.