Mitsubishi Fuso has announced it has launched the new Euro VI-compliant medium-duty Fighter and heavy-duty Shogun truck models in Australia, in advance of a decision by the country to set a deadline date for adoption of Euro VI emissions standards.

Mitsubishi Fuso has launched an upgraded medium/heavy-duty Fighter truck with an advanced safety package, which puts it in full compliance with new safety regulations in Japan due to be introduced in September.

The Dutro Z EV, a next-generation ultra-low-floor, front-wheel drive light-duty electric truck with a walk-through van-style configuration designed to be both user-friendly and emissions-free, will be introduced in Japan in early summer 2022.

The Iskandar Regional Development Authority of Malaysia in March said its Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project would likely cost MYR2.5bn (USD600m) and is expected to become operational in 2023.

Allison Transmission Europe has introduced two new versions of its xFE fully automatic transmission for use in medium-duty trucks in the EMEA region.

Mercedes-Benz, through MFTB Taiwan, launched a touring coach for the Taiwanese market built on the OC500 RF Euro VI-compliant chassis in April this year, fitted with the 12-litre Mercedes-Benz OM 470 diesel engine.

Mitsubishi Fuso has made some important improvements to its Canter light-duty truck for compliance with Japanese regulations to be introduced in September 2021.

Hübner GmbH & Co KG (Hübner Group) of Kassel Germany has acquired Dutch electro-hydraulic chassis steering specialist, V.S.E. Vehicle Systems Engineering B.V. of Veenendaal, Netherlands, for an undisclosed sum from Weber-Hydraulik Group, which has owned VSE since 2014.

Sales of large buses and coaches (>7.5t gvw) in the fiscal year 2020-21 (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021) decreased sharply by 81.70% to 7,322 units from 40,016 units registered in the previous same fiscal year (2019-20).

Domestic sales of medium- and heavy-duty rigid trucks fell by 15.41% to 139,486 units in FY2020 from 164,896 units in the financial year 2019-20. While this appears not to be a major fall if the registrations last year are compared with two years ago, when 280,139 units were registered, this is a halving of the market in two years.

Total tractor sales in the fiscal year 2020-21 (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021)  fell by 28.9% to register 13,880 units compared with 19,516 units in the previous year (FY2019-20). Since two years ago this means the market has shrunk by 72% from when sales had registered 70,989 tractor units.

Sales of LCV goods carrier (trucks) vehicles (gvw ≤ 7.5t) saw sales decline by 11.5% in the fiscal year 2020-21 (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021) to 395,783 units from 447,351 units in FY2019-20. This is the second year of decline from 564,409 unit sales two years ago; a difference of 170,000 units!