Daimler Trucks Opens Global Hybrid Center in Japan

28 August 2008

Daimler Trucks inaugurated its new Global Hybrid Center at Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) in Kawasaki. Located within the company’s R&D facilities, the new center will be the worldwide hub for Daimler Trucks’ hybrid development.  MFTBC is an integral part of the Daimler Trucks division of Daimler AG, and one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers.

With the opening of the new Center, Mitsubishi Fuso also announced it will double the number of its dedicated hybrid engineers to about 35 people.

The role of the new Global Hybrid Center is to direct and synchronize Daimler Trucks hybrid development activities on a global basis. All of Daimler Trucks hybrid activities will be aligned under the Center, including regional hybrid personnel at Daimler Trucks divisions MFTBC, Mercedes-Benz Trucks and Daimler Trucks North America LLC. A total of 50 people will be affiliated with the Center.

MFTBC was chosen as the location for the Center because of the company’s history and expertise in hybrid vehicle innovation. Mitsubishi Fuso has been developing hybrid vehicles for more than 10 years and today offers products such as the Canter Eco Hybrid light-duty truck and the Aero Star Eco Hybrid bus for the Japan market. The company has also developed the Canter Eco-D, a concept hybrid light-duty dump truck.

MFTBC had already been serving as the hybrid competence center for Daimler Trucks. The founding of the Global Hybrid Center expands this role and creates a formal organizational structure for coordinating hybrid development on a global basis.