KUALA LUMPUR: DRB-Hicom Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (Deftech) is participating in what could be a multi-billion ringgit program to replace the aging fleet of armoured personnel carriers in the Malaysian army.
The government has given the wholly-owned subsidiary of DRB-Hicom Bhd a letter of intent, entrusting it to develop the 8x8 Armoured-Wheeled Vehicle (8x8 AWV) program with the support of the Defence Ministry, Malaysian Army and the Malaysian Defence Industry Council.
MAN Latin America has secured an order from the Brazilian federal government to supply 4,000 school buses - its largest delivery ever. These Volksbus units are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2011.
MAN builds the chassis for the buses at its plant in Resende, while the bodies are produced by partners Marcopolo and Caio Induscar, as commissioned by MAN.
A new truck production line was officially opened on Thursday (15 April) at the MAN Latin America plant in Resende, Brazil.
The new assembly line has capacity of 5,000 heavy trucks per year. In the next few months test vehicles will be produced to start with so that the first vehicles ordered can be delivered in 2011 to three of Brazil's largest transport operators: Julio Simoes, Arcom and Binotto. In the first phase the trucks will be assembled from SKD (semi-knocked-down) kits imported from Germany but the medium term aim is to raise local content to at least 60 percent.
German truckmaker MAN has started operations today (21 April) in its EUR35m (US$46.8m) new development centre for engine designers in Nuremberg.
The new design and development centre has 16 test beds for engines and one for vehicles and development laboratories, as well as workspace for 150 staff, expanding capacity by around 30 percent.
Russian truckmakers looking to expand internationally, and global players with an eye on the Russian market, are upbeat about the outlook for the sector.
Russian truck maker Kamaz has managed to shrug off the financial crisis by increasing its Russian market share in Heavy Utility Vehicles to 60 percent.