UD Trucks has thrown down the gauntlet to its competitors with the release of its new Euro 5-compliant models
By Gary Worrall | August 18, 2011
Long known for the workhorse-dependable MK and PK medium duty models, UD Trucks has thrown down the gauntlet to its competitors with the release of its new Euro 5-compliant versions.
Codenamed Condor, the new MK and PK share the same underpinnings as well as an all-new engine family that offers more torque and power than the previous Hino-sourced units. The new models also reduce noise levels and fuel consumption.
UD’s Oceania region President John Bushell, who will retire this year, says while there was a time when the company “just wanted to be like Hino or Isuzu, but bigger”, UD is now strong enough to concentrate on its brand attributes.
“Our products are now solutions for customers,” Bushell says.
Backing up his confidence is three years of development by UD engineers at the company’s Ageo plant on the project P9208, as the new trucks were known initially. The work was aimed at taking the company to a new level in the truck market.
With virtually the whole truck new from the ground up, UD is using the Condor launch as an opportunity to move away from the workmanlike tag that was the hallmark of the superseded trucks.
The new GH7 engine is offered in two power ratings:180kW and 206kW.
There is also a choice of a six- and nine-speed manual, including the Eaton ES11109 synchromesh transmission which allows PK operators a maximum GCM of 32 tonnes. The Allison 2500 Series automatic is fitted to both the MK and PK models, while PK operators can also select the Allison 3000 Series transmission.
With the GH7 engine used in all models, it also allows UD to offer them with factory-fitted 343N PTO-drives at the rear of the engine, providing a 75 percent increase in torque over the previous models.
UD’s product planning manager, Mark Hammond, says the Condor model specification was proposed in late 2007 and then finalised in 2008 before UD had finished the rollout of the previous ADR 80/03 trucks it was to replace.
The arrival of Condor provides UD with a family range of models, beginning with MK at the light end of the medium duty segment with a GVM of 11 tonnes. The PK provides 16 and 17-tonne GVMs, rounded out by the Quon range of heavy duty trucks with 26-tonne GVMs.
Hammond says all the trucks are offered with a 36 month warranty, with the MK stopping at 150,000km, while the PK is covered for 200,000km. However, operators can purchase extended warranties on both trucks.
See the October edition of ATN for the full report on the new UD Trucks MK and PK models.