Daimler Trucks' Global Hybrid Center in Kawasaki celebrates one-year anniversary

Daimler Trucks is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Global Hybrid Center (GHC) in Kawasaki. The GHC is the worldwide competence center for hybrid drive technology and its development. It was opened on August 1, 2008. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) celebrated the anniversary today at the GHC, which is housed in the R&D facilities in Kawasaki, Japan. MFTBC is an integral part of the Daimler Trucks division of Daimler AG and one of the leading commercial vehicle manufacturers in Asia. MFTBC has to date sold more than 600 units of the Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid truck in Japan alone.

“Daimler Trucks sees a wide range of applications for hybrid technology in the global commercial vehicle market,” says Dr. Albert Kirchmann, President and CEO of MFTBC. “The GHC helps us to coordinate and manage Daimler Trucks’ hybrid drive activities worldwide while at the same time forging ahead with the development of hybrid drive systems.”

 “The GHC team is looking forward to the upcoming challenges and is working hard to launch further hybrid vehicles for road and vocational use,” says Fumio Akikawa, Director of the GHC. “We consider hybrid systems to be more than just another means of propulsion; they also represent an opportunity to protect and preserve our planet for future generations.”

 In its first year the GHC initially consolidated all Daimler Trucks’ hybrid drive activities worldwide. The focus was on bringing together all assessments, studies, and developments concerning the hybrid technology of the individuals brands Mercedes-Benz, Fuso, and Freightliner, and to use this as a basis for moving forward with further development of hybrid systems. As a result, synergy effects are now being more effectively exploited and the joint strategy is being rigorously implemented. Local application centers will adapt and implement the hybrid systems to the individual vehicles and brands in the respective markets. A center in Mannheim is being considered for Mercedes-Benz Europe and Latin America, for example.

All of Daimler Trucks’ hybrid-related activities, including the Global Hybrid Center, are part of the “Shaping Future Transportation” initiative. The objective of this global initiative of Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses is to use clean and efficient drive systems along with alternative fuels to make zero-emission commercial vehicles for tomorrow’s transportation needs a reality.

Source: Transportweekly