Hino Motors Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (HMSM), had launched the new HINO 200 Series light truck earlier today. This is a new series added to Hino's Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) lineup thatcould be the ideal size for those that require something small (under 3.5Tonnes), nimble and very suitable to tight city streets or windy roads. HMSM states that they aim to provide trucks that are best suited to the needs of the local market, as well as align with its mission to be Malaysia's most Customer-Centric and reliable commercial vehicle company. All of this by providing Best-fit Product' and Total Support.
The HINO 200 Series was launched with its tagline 'Just Low, Just Fit. The event was attended by Atsushi Uchiyama, Managing Director of Hino Motors Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (HINO), and Masahiro Kumasaka, Chief Officer of Hino Motors Asia (HMA) as well as dealers, customers and members of the media. There was also a pre-booking ceremony for Mighty Bakery Sdn Bhd, who ordered 10 units of the new HINO 200 Series which shows a lot of confidence by the company in Hino. A mock key was presented by HINO Managing Director, Atsushi Uchiyama to Mighty Bakery Sdn Bhd Director Rodney Khor signifying the bookings made by Mighty Bakery.
Managing Director of HMSM, Atsushi Uchiyama, said at the launch, "The HINO 200 series is designed for our customer's business success and it is equipped with features like easy access to smaller or narrow roads and the need for changes in the commercial vehicles industry. Our new light-commercial vehicle, HINO 200 series is one of our products that we have worked on to achieve customer satisfaction."
The HINO 200 Series of light commercial trucks has only one model at this moment and it is a 4-wheeler priced at RM89,800 (an early bird price at launch with the official pricing at RM2,000 more) for the basic chassis before one picks the option of a body for cargo (flat bed wooden is an option), box van (which is the fully covered ones) or mobile truck (for food trucks and other mobile businesses) at the truck body builders . The single 4 wheeled option comes with a manual transmission and is best suited to operate especially on narrow streets and curvy roads due to its compact for a truck size as well as its low roofline (depending on how high is the cargo box at the rear of course). The 200 Series has a small turning radius at a measurement of 4,700mm where customers will have better maneuverability at tight corners or narrow spaces.
The 200 Series is the first in the Malaysian market Hino line-up that comes with a Euro 4 turbo-charged inter-cooled engine and B20 Diesel compatibility. The 200 Series has a 2.8liter 144 brake horsepower and 300 Nm of torque turbodiesel engine. According to Hino, the 200 Series has better NVH due to its design with low vibration with an optimised Independent front suspension. This will provide better drive comfort than dependent suspension and better tire contact at uneven road surface conditions
A notable feature in the new HINO 200 Series is its low cabin height and low deck height. This feature gives easy access to customers to load and unload their cargo The mounting brackets are also available on the chassis frame for easy and direct body mounting The 200 Series has a low cabin height of under 2 meters which allows the 200 Series access to more areas like basement parking lots at shopping malls. In fact, the Hino 200 actually brings back the small truck segment (under 4 tonnes) to the Malaysian market. Prior to this there were only certain commercial vans that were forced to carry over their payload or those refurbished grey imported reconditioned trucks brought into Malaysia.
Even though it is a compact sized truck, the 200 Series has been designed with a tiltable cabin and together with the low cabin height allows for easier reach to the engine for maintenance services. With its designed for low maintenance and lifetime cost, customers can preserve their resale value. Being that it is brand new and not a reconditioned unit, the reliability of this new truck is much better.
As with other recently launched HINO's other models, this new line-up is fitted with Anti Lock Braking System (ABS) that prevents the wheels from locking up during heavy braking and allows for maintained contact with the road surface and extra grip. ABS helps the driver remain in control of the vehicle to avoid obstacles in its path during braking. With the addition of Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) and Traction Control, the 200 Series has more grip and access to customers when they enter narrow streets or curvy roads.
The 200 Series usage is suitable for three types of body which the customer can opt from the coachbuilders. These are cargo, box van, and mobile truck. The 200 Series together with cargo bed is suitable for logistics with light payloads such as agriculture, groceries, construction, and courier services. The small size 200 series also will give easy access to day or night markets with narrow roads The box van body will be suitable for businesses like electrical services, hardware appliances, clothing, and packaged foods - those that need a covered cargo area. The 200 series also will be able to use as a mobile truck. Mobile trucks are used in different businesses such as food & beverages (food trucks), catering, event companies, mobile office, and advertising
The Hino 200 does fill in that niche as I've mentioned above. Hino also mentioned that it fills in a niche below the larger 300 Series of trucks and while it may cannibalise some sales from the larger model, it may actually fill in that gap which was filled by old trucks like the oldToyota Dyna, Inokom Lorimas and Daihatsu Delta trucks which you see still plying on Malaysian roads. These are smaller sized diesel powered trucks which somehow have disappeared from the market and its place was not really taken over by anything.
If one were to say replaced the trucks in this category you could say that it could be Hino's associate company in the grand scheme of things - Daihatsu (which is also a Toyota group company). The Daihatsu Grand Max may have actually taken over the place of these earlier trucks as there is an option of buying one with a cargo bed or a cargo van. But it is powered by a smallish petrol engine and its pulling power isn't as great as the 200 series of trucks. It is a smaller sized 'truck' in the 2.1tonne segment vs the 3.5t which the 200 series sits in. One is petrol (at about RM9,000 cheaper) and this one is a high torque diesel more suitable for heavier duty work loads.
Actually, this covers both bases as Daihatsu Malaysia is also a Hino authorised dealer so the choice is yours.
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