UD Trucks Launched Improved Quester Heavy Duty Truck

L-R: Wong King Yoon, Director, TCIE; Filip Van den Heede, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, UD Trucks International; Tan Keng Meng, Executive Director, TCIE; Dato’ Haji Kamarudin Bin Jaffar, Deputy Transport Minister of Malaysia; Steve Hedouin, Managing Director, UD Trucks Hub Malaysia and Oceania; Jaclyn Loy, Chief Operating Officer, TCIE; and Toshihiko Odawara, Vice President, Quester Product Line Management, UD Trucks.

UD Trucks Malaysia has officially launched the new Quester with improved features at the Malaysia Commercial Vehicles Expo (MCVE) 2019 and it is on display at the Malaysia International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC) from 20-22 June.

The updated Quester heavy duty truck is aimed at enabling logistics companies in Malaysia to tackle critical industry challenges and boost their bottom line through Smart Logistics.

The new Quester is also the first Japanese prime mover to offer an automated manual transmission (AMT). Along with the ESCOT (Easy and Safe Controlled Transmission) AMT, the Quester also features a hydraulic retarder, electrical cab tilt, user friendly telematics and higher horsepower engines.

The improvements are aimed at helping boost productivity and profitability for business owners and logistics companies. The new Quester can further enhance fuel efficiency by up to 10% with the ESCOT AMT, lighter tare weight and optimised driveline.

The ESCOT transmission includes a software that optimises gear shifting according to engine revolutions, vehicle speed, loading weight and road gradient. This smart system also includes a sensor that will select optimum gear automatically instead of assuming a first gear selection. Ensuring inproved fuel efficiency helps businesses to better manage fuel costs and mitigate oil price volatility.

Just as important for efficiency are the operating conditions, driving behavior and vehicle maintenance. In line with elevating business success through Smart Logistics, the Quester supports effective fleet management and driver performance with innovative customer telematics such as real-time vehicle tracking and geofencing for better fleet visibility and optimization.

The Quester is equipped with UD Telematics, which has the capability to connect directly to UD Trucks workshops to monitor and detect each vehicle’s condition and service needs before a potential emergency occurs. Preventive maintenance analysis guides customers with monthly driving behavior and fuel consumption reports, ensuring higher uptime and more optimal fuel economy over time.

The truck continues with UD’s promise of robustness, reliability, safety and efficiency. “New Quester is the truck that can help meet our customers’ requirements and expectations to manage their key business challenges. We have developed New Quester with the ‘Gemba Spirit’, by being close to the ground, listening to the needs of our customers,” said Steve Hedouin, Managing Director, UD Trucks Hub Malaysia and Oceania.

“New Quester introduces key features to deliver even greater productivity, fuel efficiency, uptime, driver comfort and safety. We are highly confident that New Quester is the truck of this generation that will help Malaysian companies overcome business challenges and accelerate growth with Smart Logistics,” he added.

“Since 1995, UD Trucks has delivered more than 80,000 trucks with ESCOT automated manual transmission. We are humbled by the tremendous confidence and recognition that the Quester line has earned. With New Quester, we are positive to carry on this legacy of being the truck brand that our customers want to partner with,” Hedouin concluded.

The new Quester is equipped with engines that deliver high torque and pulling power at low RPMs, while a flat torque curve minimizes the need for gear changing. This enables it to deliver higher average speeds and lower fuel consumption in the long run. The enhanced fuel performance aligns with the focus on environmentally friendly regulations to curb fuel consumption.

Driving comfort has also been improved for a better working environment. This is done to support logistics companies expand the pool of talent and address the shortage of drivers.

The Quester has more driver-friendly features to make the driving experience more seamless and comfortable. The ESCOT AMT, besides helping to aid fuel efficiency, also helps take away the need for manual gear shifting, which can happen between 1,000 to 1,500 times in a day in normal operating conditions. Since the ESCOT automatically selects the optimal gear, this frees up the driver’s attention to focus on driving safely and more efficiently.

The ESCOT transmission allows for reduced clutch wear due to inefficient driver operation. Clutch lifespan can increase by up to 2.5 to 3 times comparatively, thus increasing uptime and reducing maintenance costs.

The Quester’s air suspended cab and ride comfort package can reduce cab vibrations by up to 18% thus helping to reduce driver fatigue, which contributes for up to 20% of road accidents in the world. Driver’s comfort is also enhanced with ergonomic seats and lumbar support for long-distance assignments. Tan Keng Meng, Executive Director, Tan Chong Industrial Equipment (TCIE) said, “As UD Trucks’ sole distributor partner, we are fully committed to deliver on UD Trucks’ ethos of “Ultimate Dependability” by increasing truck uptime through our UD Extra Mile Support. Offering an extensive network of well-trained service technicians, we provide quality aftersales service with genuine parts, service planning and vehicle handover training that optimizes fleet performance.”

“We recognize the immense potential in Malaysia, where business success is a key contributor to economic progress. Combined with our Ultimate Dependability standard and Gemba spirit, we are confident that New Quester marks the company’s commitment to continue championing Smart Logistics and providing unmatched value to customers. With our extensive network of 43 service centers and dealerships throughout Malaysia, TCIE will continue to play a major role in providing key support to all our customers,” added Tan.

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