Hino Continues Aim to Be Industry Trendsetter
Hino Motors Sales (Malaysia) SdnBhd (HMSM) Managing Director Ken Iwamoto revealed in
a recent interview with Truck & Bus News the company’s continual aim of being an industry trendsetter in Malaysia.
“We are celebrating our 40th anniversary this year. Over the years, we have achieved a number of firsts and set precedents in Malaysia. These included being the first to introduce Euro 3 engine in the light commercial vehicle segment in 2010, followed by the inclusion of the first full automatic transmission gear to be installed in the light commercial vehicle category with the launch of Hino 300 series in 2012.” However, he said the company never rest on its laurels. HMSM continued to be proactive, listen attentively and understand market needs and requirements.
In response to the government’s mandate for speed limiters on all newly registered buses starting this year, he continued that HMSM was the first to include the speed limiter as a standard safety feature in its 3 new bus models - RN8JSNA, RK8JSKA and RM1KESKU - in December 2016.
“We will continue to do so through our customer-oriented product improvement, sales and service,” he stressed.
2016 was a good year for HSMS despite the market slowdown. Iwamoto disclosed that the company’s total sales volume increased by almost 20 per cent, from 4,929 units in 2015 to 5,901.
“Light commercial vehicles and buses, including mini and tourist buses, were the two bigger growth segments. The cooperation with dealers through training, technical and marketing support helped them to generate growth for us. It is important to have good dealerships. Our dealers have developed close relationships with their individual customers and visited them regularly. Furthermore, they are very proactive, whereby they would hold their own roadshows and come out with their own marketing strategies.”
As for the growth in the bus segment, he said Hino had a long standing reputation for building durable and reliable buses. “We have a wider bus range to cater for the different needs and requirements. The growth reflected the higher trust level in our products from the local bus sector.”
RM8 million to Upgrade HTSCC
In the company’s stride to provide the best support to customers, Iwamoto revealed that HMSM would invest more than RM8 million to upgrade its Hino Total Support Customer Centre’s (HTSCC) facilities. Sitting on a 24,327-square metre site in SendayanTechValley, HTSCC was the first Hino’s Total Support Customer Centre operated outside Japan, stressing the importance of the Malaysian market as the third pillar of its Southeast Asian operation.
“HTSCC will facilitate the foundation of our Total Support activities; it is proof of Hino’s dedication towards customers. The project includes increasing the number of classrooms and upgrading the test track to include bends and curves to test vehicle stability and breaking point as well as wet performance. Currently, we have 3 key trainers and some support staff. We are looking to employ more trainers, which will enable us to separate the training department into two divisions – customer training and dealer training. We aim to expand the HTSCC professional driver training curriculum to deliver the best support to our customers, not only in driver familiarisation training but also in knowledge and techniques on safety driving as well as fuel saving. Safety is the main concern for the Malaysian road transport industry and Hino has put forward its best efforts to help reduce accident rates caused by human error via these safety training courses.”
Besides that, he said there were plans to upgrade the quality of existing dealers. “This would involve upgrading workshop facilities and ensuring that their technicians have proper knowledge and skills. We also plan to launch a Dealer Management System, a standard system for all dealers, which would help them monitor the service records of customers.”
To increase market penetration, HMSM would continue to expand itsdealer network. He confirmed that there would be 4 to 5 outlets to be opened in new locations this year.
New Hino 300 Series with Extended Service Warranty
In conjunction with its 40th anniversary, HMSM would launch a range of products. Following the new 3 bus models was the launch of the latest Hino 300 series. This series comes with improved power and is said to have upgraded safety that complies with the latest United Nation Regulation (UNR) as required by the JPJ (JabatanPengakutanJalan) Malaysia.
Currently, Hino offered a service warranty for 36 months or 100,000km for the new Hino 300 series. This included the first 3 free services that covered Hino genuine spare-parts, engine oil and labour cost, followed by the 7 free parts programme that included free oil filter, fuel filter, pre fuel filter and air cleaner. In short, within the warranty period, HMSM would help customers by keeping maintenance and service costs to the lowest possible. This, he stressed, showed that customers were always at the heart of Hino’s sales and service focus.
“With this programme, we are making our products more affordable. Thus, we are not here just to sell our products; we are here to support customers in their business operation as well as help them save cost, especially when the market is slowing down. We want to encourage our customers to come back to Hino and our authorized workshops for maintenance and service as no one knows Hino vehicles better than us.”
In line with Hino’s utmost concern for safety, he said there was also a limited time offer of an insurance protection scheme forthe new Hino 300 Series truck drivers covering up to RM100,000 in disability, RM100,000 personal liability and other medical benefits.
“Furthermore, the new 300 series is equipped with the Hino ArmTech tracking device that connects it to the call centre 24/7. This allows easy vehicle tracking and helps in recovering the truck in the shortest possible time in the event of theft. The device would be fitted and the first year servicing fee is covered by us.”