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COMTRANS REVIEW

10th November 2011
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Page 32, 10th November 2011 — COMTRANS REVIEW
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The Russian truck market goes international The Russian truck market is possibly the most dynamic and luid in the world, with manufacturers from the home countries competing with western European, American, Korean, Chinese, Turkish and Japanese models, in addition to the 7,000 imported second-hand trucks sold in the country during the irst half of 2011.

After the collapse of the Russian truck market in 2009, the growth of 2010 is continuing into the irst six months of 2011, with truck sales soaring by 85.7% over this period and imported new trucks being the most rapidly growing segment, according to ASM Holding Information.

The leading Russian maker is the massive Kamaz concern, boasting 39% of the domestic market in 2010 for trucks over 16 tonnes. Kamaz is still producing its rugged trucks, with a cab design that can be traced back to the irm’s irst models from 1976, but it is currently involved in joint ventures with ZF, Cummins and Daimler.

Next generation

The Daimler deal involves the German irm effectively holding a 15% stake in the Russian one, and the fruits of this will be seen in the next generation of Kamaz heavy trucks. The new 5490 model is based on a common chassis platform, with one variant featuring a Mercedes-Benz Axor cab and an OM 457LA Euro-5 engine, and another version featuring a Kamaz Euro-4 engine and high cab appearing to share its heritage with the Tata Prima. The Daimler venture also sees Kamaz assembling the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter, Mercedes Actros and Axor at its Chelny factory. The Russian government charges duties of up to 25% payable on imported chassis.

Local assembly is also favoured by Volvo (with Renault) at Kaluga, while Scania and International assemble trucks in the St Petersburg area, the latter producing the Cummins ISM-powered cab-over engine 9800i, a truck popular in New Zealand and South Africa, but not yet selling in great quantities in Russia. MAN is understood to be considering Russian assembly plans.

Another joint venture in assembly is the Iveco-AMT business, which builds Trakker vehicles adapted to the severe conditions prevalent in the Urals and Siberia. Cabs are constructed in the plant along with tipper bodies, rather than being brought in ready-assembled.

After Kamaz, the leading heavy truck producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States are Ural and MAZ. Ural is the heavy truck division of the GAZ group, which takes about half of the Russian market for light vans and trucks with its popular Gazelle and Valday models, and was formerly owner of the LDV concern in Britain. The Ural range consists of ruggedly built trucks featuring both normaland forward-control and often featuring all-wheel drive and the group’s YaMZ diesel engines. The forward-control models, including an 8x4 tipper, use the old Iveco cab.

MAZ range

The Belarus manufacturer MAZ still has a very strong presence on the roads of Russia and its new 5440B9 forward-control tractor unit is an impressive-looking and well-inished machine, despite the slightly old fashioned nature of the basic cab design. MAZ produced one of the star attractions at Comtrans 2011, with its 6440PA normal-control 6x4 tractor. This model features an MMZ V8 Euro-4 engine, developing 600bhp delivered via an Allison 4500R automatic gearbox. MAZ has announced the availability of Cummins engines in addition to the Renault and YaMZ units already offered.

KrAZ, the Ukrainian concern, has long held an important niche in the Russian and CIS markets with its heavy-duty threeand four-axle trucks aimed at the heavy transport and construction sectors. Its vehicles have traditionally been normal-control chassis, including the 256B, which enjoyed some success in the UK during the 1970s when it was marketed under the ‘Belaz’ name by UMO Plant. In recent years, KrAZ has produced forward-control trucks using its own plastic-based cab, the Renault Premium cab, and most recently a MAN F2000 unit, supplied by the Chinese Shacman concern, all atop its preferred YaMZ Euro-3 engine.

Along with GAZ, ZIL is the leading home producer of lightweight trucks, with its short-bonneted models joined by forward-control MAN L2000-cabbed vehicles, but its plans to produce the Chinese Howo heavy truck have failed to materialise.

Chinese makers were reportedly responsible for the sale of more than 10,000 trucks in Russia the year before the inancial crisis, with sixand eight-wheel tippers from Shaanxi MAN, China National Heavy Truck Corporation, Dongfeng and Foton being available at competitive prices and at very short notice.

Problems with a patchy back-up and parts service, allied to the economic collapse, dealt a severe blow to Chinese manufacturers, from which they have been slow to recover. Chinese hopes are currently riding on the FAW J6, which is heralded as the irst premium truck of all-Chinese design, as opposed to models based upon previous-generation European and Japanese vehicles. At the lightest end of the market, Foton is proving successful with its Aumark truck powered by the Cummins ISF3.

The Turkish Otosan Ford Cargo is rapidly growing in use in the Russian marketplace. A distant relative of the original Cargo models, the current tractor version is powered by the Ford Ecotorq Euro-3 in-line, 6-cylinder of 9 litres capacity and 380bhp.

Prospective Russian buyers not tempted by the home-grown, western European and Asian models can take advantage of the wide variety of used vehicles from Europe, the US, Japan and America, which contribute to making the Russian haulage scene surely one of the most diverse in the world. ■


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