Asian Influence: The rise of South Korean trucks
Lets talk about the increased influence of Asian OEM’s in the heavy vehicle segment:
We are actually really excited by this – think of when Hyundai started to increase their market share amongst the Australian passenger car market – they were competitively priced, were built for a purpose and offered very strong warranty and backup compared to the Australian counterparts who had dominated the market for a long time. (think Ford & Holden).
The same is happening with heavy vehicles:
Hyundai have brought to Australia their Xcient 6×4 cab-over prime mover. At 520hp with 1850ft/lb of torque there isn’t a lot of jobs it couldn’t do within the single trailer intra-state market. Single trailer work up to 45 tonne would easily be taken care of by this – coupled to a 12 speed AMT trans with a 4 stage retarder, it would be a dream to operate in heavy city traffic (think Sydneys Pennant Hills Rd or Melbournes Monash freeway on a Friday).
It comes with a 3yr / 500,000km warranty and as such with their passenger vehicles – they stand by their product. A 950L fuel capacity also puts it within reach for a Melbourne – Sydney return trip on a single tank.
If you are still sceptical over the thought of getting around town in a Hyundai – this might get you over the line:
They’re $217,000. Including GST.
So from $682 a week, you’ve got your self into a brand new truck, that is fully warranted for 3 years / 500,000km, uses less fuel than a 15L Cummins / Detroit and you could nearly have 2 of these for the price of a Kenworth!
