Japan’s commercial vehicle market over 2 tons gvw expanded by just 9% to 91,928 units in the second quarter of 2021 after declining by 22% to 84,437 units a year earlier.

The Malaysian commercial vehicle market over 2 tons gvw surged by almost 142% to 9,820 units in the second quarter of 2021 after plunging by over 70% to 4,064 units in the same period of last year.

The market for commercial vehicles over 2 tons gvw in the Philippines rebounded by over 130% to an estimated 21,692 units in the second quarter of 2021 after plunging by 83% to 9,426 units in the same period of last year.

South Korea’s commercial vehicle market over 2 tons gvw continued to grow in the second quarter of 2021, with sales rising by 5.2% to 64,525 units from 61,344 in the same period of last year, based on data released individually by vehicle manufacturers and trade associations.

Vietnam’s market for commercial vehicles over 2 tons gvw bounced back by almost 41% year-on-year to 20,026 units in the second quarter of 2021 after declining by 23% to 14,211 units in the same period of last year.

The Thai market for commercial vehicles over 2 tons gvw plunged by over 34% to an estimated 94,255 units in the second quarter of 2021 from 70,151 units in the same period of last year.

Foxtron Vehicle Technologies, the electric vehicle subsidiary of Taiwan’s Hon Hai Technology Group – also widely known locally as Apple Inc’s main iPhone contract manufacturer, Foxconn – has announced a partnership with local energy company, North-Star International Company and bus operator, Kaohsiung Bus Company to develop a battery-powered bus transportation network.

Hino Motors Ltd, headquartered in Tokyo, announced in June it would launch a battery-powered version of its popular, Poncho medium-duty bus in Japan in early 2022 as it looks to expand its portfolio of zero-emission vehicles.

The electric powertrains from Lightning eMotors will be fitted in up to 7,500 Class 4 and 5 buses over the next four and a half years.

Domestic sales of light duty buses and coaches(GVW 7.5t or less) surged by 399.7%, increasing to 4,297 units in Q1 2021-22 from 860 units in the first quarter of the previous financial year.

Domestic sales of buses (7.5t GVW and above) increased by 391% in the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22, with sales of 1,086 units compared to 221 units in Q1 of 2020-21.

Evobus has introduced its most comprehensive range of complete minibuses. The minibuses comprise four model series and are designed to meet all the many different operational requirements.