they wanted a Japanese heavy-duty truck with serious performance
To state the obvious, there are four Japanese brands contesting the Australian heavy-duty truck market but, in performance terms, only one is truly capable of going head-to-head with European cab-overs in the prime mover and heavy rigid class. Fuso!
Just as truly, though, it is a very odd thing in this day and age of ultra-competitive business and brutal corporate contest that Fuso is the only Japanese competitor with a genuine capacity to tackle the European brands with a modern, efficient, safe and advanced powertrain in the 500hp class.
But why is Fuso the only one of four when there exists, in one form or another, the potential for higher powered versions in all Japanese brands?
Well, from the outside looking in, it appears corporate complexity and executive xenophobia continue to dictate what heavy-duty trucks Japan is able, or willing, to bring to the Australian market.
Indeed, there is perhaps no more fascinating and perplexing study of modern-day truck development than that provided by Japan and its sluggish, even dismissive, attitudes to the Australian heavy-duty sector.
Take Isuzu, for example. It may be the hands-down leader of the Australian truck market but despite a vast model range, Isuzu is the only one of the four Japanese contenders which does not even offer a dedicated model for prime mover or truck ‘n’ dog work. In fact, it achieves its impressive heavy-duty volumes with a bevy of
