Mitsubishi Fuso Reaches Production Milestone In Russia

Kawasaki, Japan/Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia - Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, today announced that the 1,000th truck Mitsubishi Fuso truck has now been produced in Russia. Local assembly of the trucks began in May 2010 at the Naberezhnye Chelny production facility of FUSO KAMAZ Trucks Rus (FKTR), a joint venture company 50% owned by Kamaz and 50% owned by MFTBC’s primary shareholder Daimler AG.

In addition to the production milestone, Mitsubishi Fuso announced it now holds the #2 market share position among Japanese competitors in its segment in Russia. Furthermore, the distribution network for Mitsubishi Fuso trucks in Russia has been expanded and now numbers more than 50 locations, already covering all major areas throughout the country.

“Mitsubishi Fuso is pleased with our strong start in Russia,” said Mr. Kai-Uwe Seidenfuss, MFTBC Vice President of Sales and Service International. “In addition to the production milestone, Mitsubishi Fuso has earned robust market share in our segment, and made significant progress in expanding the distribution network.

“We would like to thank our colleagues at FKTR and Kamaz, the skilled truck builders at Naberezhnye Chelny and the Mitsubishi Fuso dealers throughout Russia. Most importantly, we want to thank our customers for their confidence and investment in products.”

Establishing Presence in Key Growth Market

Mr. Seidenfuss added, “Mitsubishi Fuso is just getting started in the key Russia market. We see much larger potential for Mitsubishi Fuso products here, especially as the Russian economy becomes more diversified with greater focus on services. We look forward to providing many more Russia customers with efficient and high quality Mitsubishi Fuso trucks.”

Russia is considered a key growth market for commercial vehicles in the future. Therefore, MFTBC has taken steps in the last 18 months to establish a market presence.

FKTR was set up in late 2009 to handle the importation, production and wholesale operations for Mitsubishi Fuso trucks in Russia. Subsequently, this joint venture company established headquarters facilities in Kazan with production location in Naberezhnye Chelny.

Mitsubishi Fuso unveiled its products for the Russian market at the “Comtrans 2010” show in Moscow in April 2010, and started sales in August.

The company is participating in the market with the 7.5-ton Canter light-duty truck. The Canter is known worldwide for its reliability, fuel efficiency and everyday durability. The vehicles are being assembled from semi-knocked-down (SKD) kits shipped from Japan. The company has already started sourcing local components following a clear commitment to increase localization substantially over the coming years.

Mitsubishi Fuso sales volumes are expected to rise to several thousand units annually in the coming years, with Russia becoming one of the world’s largest truck markets.

Daimler Trucks and Kamaz Strategic Partnership

The basis of the joint venture company FKTR is a strategic partnership that Daimler Trucks established with Kamaz, Russian Technologies, and the investment bank Troika Dialog in December 2008.

In connection with this partnership, Daimler acquired a 10 percent stake in Kamaz and later increased it to 11 percent.

FKTR is allowing both companies to combine their strengths. Kamaz is the market leader in Russia and Mitsubishi Fuso is one of the leading commercial vehicle manufacturers in Asia.

Based in Kawasaki, Japan, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) is one of Asia's leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. In 2010, the company sold a total of about 140,700 vehicles including light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses. Daimler AG owns 89.29% of MFTBC shares and various Mitsubishi group companies own 10.71% of MFTBC shares. MFTBC is an integral part of the Daimler Trucks Division of Daimler AG.