One of the more notable launches at the recently held Malaysian Commercial Vehicle Expo 2019 was the Malaysian launch of the refreshed UD Quester heavy duty truck. The new Quester represents an evolution of the Quester, a truck first launched in 2013, updated slightly in 2016 and now into something which is designed to cater to the latest needs in land transport. The new refreshed truck builds on its proven robustness and reliability,and introduces key features such as UD's ESCOT automated manual transmission, retarder, electrical cab tilt, engines with higher horse- power and user-friendly telematics.
The new Quester basically is refreshed to deliver greater productivity, fuel efficiency, uptime, driver efficiency and safety. Both UD Trucks Malaysia and their sole Distributors Tan Chong Industrial Equipment (TCIE) hopes that the New Quester will enable logistics companies in Malaysia to tackle critical industry challenges and boost their bottom line through Smart Logistics.
As fuel efficiency, the shortage of drivers, productivity and connectivity are top priorities for fleets and transport companies in Malaysia, the new Quester has been designed with new features such as the ESCOT AMT system and UD Telematics, which is UD's fleet management system that offers monitoring of the truck's systems as well as driving style of its driver. The continuous improvements made by UD is in line with their “Going the Extra Mile” for customers’motto.
Steve Hedouin, Managing Director, UD Trucks Hub Malaysia and Oceania said “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.”
“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.” added Hedouin.
But what is basically interesting to us here is the introduction of a Japanese heavy duty truck with an automated type of gearbox or transmission. This is the first heavy duty Japanese truck to be offered with a type of automatic transmission and it does show that the local office of the truck manufacturers are keeping with the times as well as trying to push innovation a step higher. While AMT or automatic transmissions are being offered by heavy duty European trucks and are accepted here, it seems to be slow when it comes to the slightly more affordable, budget oriented Japanese truck market. But now, there seem to be change in the air.
Personally, we do think that AMT gearboxes will allow operators to save more fuel in the long run as it will allow the truck to shift efficiently at all times, thereby making sure the truck is in the correct gear at all times. It will also lessen driver fatigue as he or she can just concentrate on driving rather than the added chore of shifting. The AMT also shifts more smoothly and actually stops the problem of some drivers who have the habit of riding the clutch, which also adds extra wear and tear costs in the long run. The benefits outweigh the initial costs of opting for such a transmission and it is great news that UD Trucks is offering it for the Quester.
In terms of reliability, UD Trucks have delivered more than 80,000 trucks with ESCOT automated manual transmission since they started offering it in 1995 (the Nissan Diesel days). In markets like South Africa, it has been reported that nearly all of the Questers sold there are ESCOT AMT trucks as their operators believe that the increased fuel efficiency allows operators to better manage fuel costs and mitigate oil price volatility.
Aside from that, UD Trucks claim that the new Quester achieves further enhanced fuel efficiency of up to 10 percent from the current Quester when fitted with the ESCOT automated manual transmission, lighter tare weight and optimized driveline. Of course this also depends a lot on the operating condition, driving behavior and vehicle maintenance.
The ESCOT transmission fitted to the new Quester includes a software which optimizes gear shifting according to engine rev, vehicle speed, loading weight and even road gradient. The smart system also includes a sensor that will select optimum gear automatically instead of assuming a first gear selection.
New Quester is also equipped with engines that deliver high torque and pulling power at low RPMs, while flat torque curve minimizes need for gear changing. The engines are an 8liter and 11liter engines with horsepower and torque ranging from 330 to 440hp and 1,200nm to 2,000Nm. Aside from the ESCOT AMT, which is an option only for the 11liter engine variant, both 8liter and 11liter variants come with the usual manual transmission unit. If you must know, the optional cost for the AMT adds to around RM30,000 to the total price of the new Quester. Actual or final price will depend on how much options and financing package for each order, so we do not know the total on the road price of the new truck.
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.”
This AMT equipped Quester is actually the Japanese heavy duty truck to start the ball rolling. The gates are now open for other manufacturers to come out with similar products and for the operators to actually see what the benefits are. In the past few months, we have also been reporting on automatic transmission trucks in various sizes which have and will come out from the Japanese manufacturers. It would be a nice to be a truck driver in the coming years as it is getting easier to do so because of technology like this.
New Quester’s enhanced fuel performance also aligns with the increasing focus on
environmentally friendly regulations to curb fuel consumption.
Introducing a more attractive and comfortable working environment, to support transport
companies win the war on talent and expand the pool of talent
New Quester introduces more driver-friendly features to make the driving experience more
seamless and comfortable. This helps transport companies in their critical and competitive battle to secure the best drivers for their fleets.
A game changer in the transportation business, New Quester with ESCOT takes away the need
for manual gear shifting, which can happen between 1000 to 1500 times in a day. ESCOT
automatically selects the optimal gear at the right timing based on the operating condition. This
enables drivers to easily learn the operations of New Quester and better focus on driving with
ease. Automatic gear selection enables an average driver to obtain the driving result of a skilled
driver.
Thus, New Quester also aims to help businesses expand the pool of talent with easy-to-operate
gear lever that uses a straight shifting pattern. New Quester opens the doors for companies to
attract even more prospects to pursue truck driving as a career and diversify the pool of talent
for this role.
Driver fatigue continues to be a serious industry challenge, contributing up to 20 percent of road
accidents in the world 1 . To address this, New Quester is developed with an air suspended cab
and ride comfort package with reduced cab vibrations up to 18 percent. Driver’s comfort is also
enhanced with ergonomic seats and lumbar support for long-distance assignments.
New Quester increases overall drivability and safety for drivers with features that focus on
increasing drivers’ comfort levels and reducing driver fatigue.
Boosting profitability and business growth by doing more with less to overcome
productivity constraints and complicated fleet management processes
In line with elevating business success through Smart Logistics, New 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.
New Quester trucks are 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.
Owners of New Quester also enjoy increased uptime with a 2.5 to 3 times longer clutch life span
under ESCOT automated manual transmission as compared to manual clutch replacement
depending on the operating condition, driving behavior and vehicle maintenance.
1 Source: The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents: Road Safety Factsheet on Driver Fatigue and Road Accidents
https://www.rospa.com/rospaweb/docs/advice-services/road-safety/drivers/driver-fatigue-factsheet.pdf
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