A NEW FUSO HEAVY-DUTY FLAGSHIP, WHICH IT reckons is "the most advanced and best-quality Japanese truck ever made," will be launched in New Zealand within the next year.

The truck, launched in Japan last year, has a strong European influence, built around its Mercedes-Benz engine and transmission. It will give NZ FUSO buyers an unprecedented choice, because the Euro 6-engined model will sell alongside the current Euro 5 HD range….and the newly-launched Enduro lineup.

The truck will be launched in mid-2019 in 8x4 and 6x4 tractor unit and rigid variants, with the 10.7-litre OM470 engine – part of the Daimler Trucks group's global heavy-duty engine platform – rated up to 460 horsepower/338kW and 1622 lb ft/2200Nm of peak torque.

Although smaller and lighter than the current OM457 12-litre engine, the new 10.7-litre produces the same peak power and torque, with better fuel efficiency, FUSO says.

There's no manual transmission option with the new model – instead using Merc's G330-12 or G230-12 OD AMTs, with FUSO Shift-pilot software that includes eco-roll and soft-cruise for fuel efficiency at cruising speeds and a rock-free mode for extricating the truck from low-traction offroad situations.

FUSO says that a bigger, 520hp/382kW (Mercedes-Benz) engine will also be offered with the new-generation premium truck, but says it can't say exactly when…although FUSO NZ managing director Kurtis Andrews is confident it will be sometime next year. But the most remarkable attribute of the new model – sold in Japan as a Super Great, but as yet unnamed for the NZ market – is its arsenal of active safety features, including Active Brake Assist 4, which will automatically brake the truck to a halt to avoid (or at least mitigate) a rear-end collision…with no input from the driver.

Its Proximity Control Assist and adaptive cruise control system, which uses radar to maintain a set distance between the truck and the vehicle ahead, breaks new ground by including a stop and go function – meaning that in stop/start traffic, it will automatically bring the vehicle to a stop, then restart when the vehicles ahead move.

There's also a lane departure warning system, side-guard and lane-changing assistance systems that monitor blind-spots and Active Attention Assist – which monitors a driver's face and eyes for signs of inattention or tiredness.

Its XtraVision LED headlights complete the safety package, which FUSO NZ is evaluating – balancing its cost against customer benefits, says Andrews: "If we tick all of the boxes, it obviously moves the price – and we have to keep it competitive. But we believe the market is shifting to a highly safety-conscious mindset."

The new truck's active braking system, for instance, is such a powerful tool in avoiding or at least reducing the impact of rear-end collisions, that in a few years, Andrews suggests, "people just will not want to buy a truck without it."

He is leaning towards launching the truck in NZ with most if not all of the safety package – seeing it as a leader…in safety and in its Euro standards of quality and its powertrain: "I'm pretty confident that this is right for the future. You can either be first, or you can hold off as long as possible."

FUSO NZ, he adds, is fortunate in that it has this highly-specced new truck…AND it will continue to offer its current Euro 5 range into the foreseeable future: "We're going to have the best of both worlds…" FUSO NZ has two prototypes of the new model here for testing in the leadup to next year's launch.