Mitsubishi’s Fuso launches first dedicated sales and customer service center

Hosaka and Ueno confer with Maria Dulce Blaylock and George Blaylock

The building boom sweeping several cities of the Philippines, especially Metro Manila, is hard to miss—jostling cranes, giant trucks hauling cement, and construction crews closing down streets. This means companies will be needing more trucks.

As proof, total demand for trucks increased by more than double to around 10,000 units in 2016, compared to 2013.

With the government mulling on finally implementing the 15-year phaseout rule on trucks and buses, most of the companies are already shifting to brand new trucks.

This is why Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) opened the country’s first dedicated dealership for Fuso trucks.

First in the country

Located along Quezon Avenue, the 2,891-square-meter Diamond Motor Corp. (DMC) Fuso Quezon Avenue dealer outlet is also the first in the country to feature service bays for Fuso vehicles.

Five work bays will offer complete tools, equipment and genuine spare parts, and will be manned by manufacturer-certified technicians.

The showroom is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday, while the service shop is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday to Friday.

Kato (left) with dealer principal George Blaylock

The Philippines is one of the fastest growing markets with a population of 101 million people, and a GDP growth rate of 7.1 percent as of the third quarter of 2016.

Fuso sees this continued economic growth as an opportunity to increase demand for trucks, according to Kay-Wolf Ahlden, head of Daimler Regional Center Commercial Vehicles for Southeast Asia.

Daimler Trucks Asia is an organizational unit that jointly operates Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. (MFTBC), an icon of the Japanese commercial vehicle industry with more than 80 years of history, and Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) , a young challenger in the Indian market.

Coinciding with the dealership inauguration, MFTBC and DICV under the umbrella of Daimler Trucks Asia also introduced the all-new Fuso “FJ” and “FI” models.

From left: Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. EVP Shigeru Ogura, MMPC president and CEO Yoshiaki Kato, Daimler Trucks director general for sales and marketing Tomohiro Suzuki, Sojitz Corporation’s Toshiro Ueno, and MMPC first vice president for marketing Froilan Dytianquin

With these, Fuso is poised to increase its market share in the light-duty, medium-duty and heavy-duty truck segments.

Air-con as standard

The six-wheeler FI is the first medium-duty truck in the country to boast standard air-con along with power windows, central door lock system, and a tilt and telescopic steering wheel.

It is powered by a new 3.9-liter turbodiesel that puts out 170 horsepower and 520 Nm of torque. This engine is paired to a 6-speed manual transmission.

Meanwhile, the Fuso FJ, just like its smaller cousin, features thicker cross members that have been shot-penned and powder coated (to resist rusting) and a taller stack of leaf springs (to carry more payload).

Daimler’s Suzuki

As for safety, the FJ gets thicker and wider brake linings, a full air brake system, and anti-lock brakes.

The FJ is powered by a 6.4-liter turbodiesel engine that generates 278 horsepower and 1,100 Nm of torque, and paired to a 9-speed manual transmission.

The FJ also gets wide beam halogen headlights with manual levelers and multi-angle

mirrors for more visibility and easier maneuverability.

Aside from power windows, central door locking system, and tilt-telescopic adjustable steering wheel, the FJ is equipped with a multi-adjustable air-pressure driver’s seat.

The FI (1217R) is available in the market at a suggested introductory retail price of P1.9 million, while the FJ (2528R) is at P3 million. Both the FI and FJ models are manufactured by DICV.

Exceed expectations

Ahlden expressed confidence that these new vehicles will exceed expectations of Filipino drivers in terms of comfort, handling and performance, while providing good returns for owners and operators in terms of low cost of ownership.

“We have a plan to introduce more models until 2017, and more sales and marketing programs and outlets to reach our target customers.”

George Blaylock, DMC president, said at the opening ceremony, “We are proud to inaugurate the first dealership exclusive for the Fuso brand in the Philippines. We started our business as a dealer for Fuso trucks in 1969, and have been here for nearly 50 years. So we are excited to set out on this continuing venture for another 50 years.”

Currently, MMPC is the importer and general distributor for the Fuso brand in the commercial vehicles segment of the Philippine market.

In 2015, about 1,500 vehicles were sold in the market through MMPC’s 48 dealerships. Fuso expects its medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks to increase market share, likewise with its iconic light-duty Canter.

“We are excited to open the doors of the country’s very first Fuso-dedicated facility. Guided by Daimler’s expertise in the commercial vehicle business, this facility has undergone strict standards to ensure that nothing short of the highest quality service will be provided to our customers,” said Yoshiaki Kato, president and CEO of MMPC.

“Sales of commercial vehicles have been gaining momentum for the past years so this timing is perfect for us. We are sure this new facility will help address this booming demand,” he added.