Big customer Star Track a fitting recipient of landmark light truck
Mitsubishi Fuso is celebrating this week’s delivery of the 50,000th Canter light-duty truck sold in Australia.
The buyer is express freight giant StarTrack, which has been a big Canter buyer since the 1980s.
The Australian milestone comes in a big year for Canter, the famous small truck model which earlier this year had its 50th birthday globally.
The first Canter appeared in its home market of Japan in March 1963. Eight generations later, 3.7 million of the little workhorses have been sold around the world.
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation President and CEO, Dr Albert Kirchmann, says in a statement from Japan that the Canter continues to play a “critical” role in the success of the company.
“In many countries, it is the Canter that customers know us by and on what the strength and reputation of the Fuso brand is based,” Kirchmann says.
The Canter has been sold in Australia for 40 years. Fuso Australia General
Manager Richard Eyre says the model is on track to achieve its highest market share in more than two decades.
“The ongoing support we get from our customers, and strong share increase in the first half of 2013, is confirmation and a testament to Canters’ ongoing reliability and value for money,” says Eyre.
“Our model range, back-up programs and special offers have never been as comprehensive or as strong as they are today.”
StarTrack Manager Multihaul and Fleet Operations, Scott Gardiner, says Fuso Canter and Fighter trucks make up more than half the company’s fleet of more than 3,000 vehicles.
“The Canter offers driver comfort, reliability and fuel efficiency that helps keep our business moving forward,” says Gardiner.
Canter features include the world’s first dual clutch automated manual transmission in a truck (the “Duonic”); what Fuso says is class-leading tare weight; a three litre variable geometry turbo diesel engine which already meets the 2015 Japanese fuel economy standard and exceeds Euro 5 emissions requirements; a suspended driver’s seat on all wide cab models; driver and passenger airbags; and 30,000km service intervals.
In a current promotion all new Canters bought in 2013 (excluding national fleets, government and rental buyers) receive 12 months comprehensive insurance at no extra cost.
Find Fuso Canter trucks for sale.