The Sixth Instalment of the Malaysia Commercial Vehicle Expo - MCVE 2024 (9-11 May), places the spotlight on ESG - MAN Truck & Bus, PETRONAS and More

Today, the 6th instalment of the Malaysia Commercial Vehicle Expo (MCVE 2024) opened its doors at the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC) until the 11th of May 2024.  MCVE is the first and biggest commercial vehicle expo series ever held in Malaysia and it has been focusing on future transport solutions in the commercial vehicle industry since its inception. It is also the largest such exhibition in Southeast Asia and is something that I have been attending over the years without fail. The three-day exhibition was launched by YB Loke Siew Fook, the Malaysian Minister of Transport.

This year, with the backdrop of digitalisation, electrification and the adaptation of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) as the main themes, the exhibition showcased an increased number of exhibitors, when compared to the event held in 2022 during the pandemic (may those times never happen again). Over the past few years, there has been an increased push into the fields mentioned above, many of the exhibitors have showcased innovative and revolutionary products and services. This is even though this time around, many familiar Japanese commercial brands as well as a few European truck and bus brands being glaringly absent. 

We missed you Hino, Isuzu, Fuso, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo Trucks, Scania. Please exhibit before customers and fans forget about you! Remember the saying, "Out of sight, out of mind"?

Anyway....at least MAN Truck & Bus was Gold Sponsor at the event and had their booth right at the main entrance of the exhibition. They did not disappoint.

MAN Truck & Bus Malaysia have been pretty active in the past couple of years here in Malaysia. Ever since the last MCVE in 2022, the brand has reorganised themselves and have come up with a their new Euro 5 trucks (one of the first which offered the cleaner emissions standard here) and have also moved their headquarters from Rawang to a more strategic Shah Alam to be closer to the truck and bus customer base.

As for their MCVE presence this year, they have optimised the stage set by MCVE: debuting at MCVE is the versatile daily transport solution, the MAN TGE Van. One of the best-selling vans in Europe, the MAN TGE we see here is just a preview and something to show potential customers on what it is as well as what it can do when launched in the future.

The TGE van is powered by a fuel-efficient and low-emission 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine (up to the latest Euro 6 over in Europe), the MAN TGE is can be easily configured and available as a Panel Van, Chassis Cab, Crew Cab, Combi Van or Mini Bus.

The brand also showed off their latest Euro 5 bus chassis at MCVE which is powered by a 480hp 2300Nm torque 12.3l engine. It can be specced to a length of over 13 metres and can come with 4 wheel steering, where the front and rear most wheels can steer the bus making the over 13 metres length good enough for tight city streets. 

 “MAN is delighted to be a part of MCVE once again.  We had a wonderful outing in 2022 when we wowed the crowd with our EURO V specification MAN Trucks, including our flagship MAN TGX.  This time around, we are delighted to present the full range of MAN low-emission commercial vehicles for the first time in Malaysia, with the MAN TGE Van making its debut,” said MAN Malaysia Managing Director, Andrew O’Brooks (photo below - wearing red, right).

MCVE's Official Lubricant Partner this year is PETRONAS Lubricants International, a proud exhibitor showcasing their Fluid Technology Solutions™ in the commercial and industrial sectors. These solutions include products under the PETRONAS Urania, PETRONAS Tutela, PETRONAS Iona, and PETRONAS Industrial Solutions brands, offering businesses substantial benefits such as reduced fuel costs, improved efficiency, and minimised downtime across entire fleets. Also present at the PETRONAS showcase is PETRONAS SmartPay, PETRONAS’ fleet management solution that streamlines operations and improves cost efficiency through the largest network of petrol stations across the nation.

German Filtration expert Hengst also took the opportunity to make full use of the exhibition as the canvas for their own activities. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Hengst Asia Pacific boosted their presence by fitting out the Asian Trucker R&R as a networking space for delegates. In addition, Hengst is to recognise business partners in an award presentation as part of the Asian Trucker Networking Night Powered by Hengst on Friday 10th of May. “People make markets. If we want to understand markets and clients, we have to work in the markets rather than on the markets. This is more time consuming than any excel spread sheet analysis but will allow insides no data will,” said Frank Maergner, Sales Director, Hengst Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.

Stefan Pertz, Organiser of MCVE 2024 (pictured above right with Anthony Loke, Transport Minister Malaysia), said of the participants which were a diverse group of companies and products, “We are grateful for the support we have received and it is especially encouraging that we have managed to attract more brands to be exhibiting here than in the last instalment of our home-grown event series.” 

Beyond the sponsors mentioned above, Stefan also highlighted that there are many other brands that are highly regarded in the industry present. “Companies exhibiting here are a solid representation of the eco-system that is needed to run successful and efficient road transport operations.” 

He pointed out that the other participants, such as Angka-Tan Motors - who chose to launch their light duty Foton Aumark S (pictured above) in its Euro 4 guise as well as planning to launch their light EV truck the eAumark, which they couldn't as the preview unit was still stuck with customs. The notable other participants include Allegiance Malaysia, CelcomDigi, YonMing, HAMMAR, ZF, HYVA and Tenming are some of the household names that industry players would recognise and expect at the event. Several brands have been part of MCVE as key tenants since 2013. Another company that chose MCVE to preview their new van was R&A Marketing Sdn Bhd (part of the Senduk Group), the official distributor of CAM and King Long minivans has launched the CAM KINGO 6AT  Euro 5 engined 15/18 seater van (below)

He also stated that the adaptation technology is crucial for brands operating in road transport as increased pressure is added from clients demanding enhanced services. This is even more so as the first event I attended there was by ZF Automotive Aftermarket where there is an emphasis on the future of connectivity in terms of software and hardware, even in the aftermarket parts segment, where they state that they are strong in.

MCVE 2024 also returns with a fringe programme, which had to be paused for the 2022 instalment. He added, “This exhibition is not just a display of products, it is also a platform that we offer for the industry to exchange, network and gain insights. Therefore, we are glad to be able to bring back elements that we used to incorporate in the earlier exhibitions.” In particular, he pointed out that the Asian Trucker Networking Night has been an institution that the industry has since embraced as a major annual event. Beyond that, seminars and presentations will take place throughout the three days. 

This year’s MCVE marks new beginnings, which is that the electrification of the transport industry is becoming more and more mainstream. This is reflected by a number of exhibits that are being introduced to the Malaysian market for the first time. It is here, where electric trucks are shown to a wider audience to be officially launched. 

Organisers of MCVE 2024 hope that the first contact with these new technologies will be as energising for transporters as it has been for them, getting involved in the presentation of these vehicles at the show.

MCVE 2024 opens from 10.00 am to 7.00 pm throughout the three days and admission is free. You can head over to www.mcve.com.my for more information on the expo.