Mercedes makes inroads into Indonesian truck market

By John Aglionby

LUXURY sedans and small trucks rarely go hand in hand but Mercedes-Benz, one of the leaders of the former market, is starting a major offensive to improve its share of the latter.

On September 5, the German carmaker will launch the MB 800 turbo, a truck designed specially for the Indonesian market, and the MBO 800 turbo, a bus engine and chassis.

The two vehicles will not only be sold here. Orders have already been received from Turkey, Vietnam, Mauritius, Egypt, Nigeria, Jamaica and Cuba and by next year, 2,500 of the 4,500 targeted sales will be exported.

The aim is for the MB 800 to cut into the domination of the category II truck market currently enjoyed by Mitsubishi, with its MMC FE 119 and the MMC FE 447. Mercedes is looking to have 3 percent of the market next year and increase that by at least 2 percent by the end of 1999.

It sold 985 of its MB 700 last year and 243 in the first few months of this year before phasing it out.

The company stresses, however,that the MB 800 is much more than just an upgraded MB 700, it is a totally new vehicle.

"We have taken on board the complaints people had about the MB 700 and improved the vehicle in all areas. There should no such complaints about this truck," said Friedel Engisch, the marketing director of PT Star Motors Indonesia, the sole Mercedes distributor in Indonesia.

New aspects of the MB 800 include the gear box, the front, rear spring and spring hangers, the brake drum and the brake system, the cabin, the gear shifting, the steering box, the head and fog lamp positioning and the bumper.

The turbo-charged engine is a four-cylinder, water-cooled direct-injection diesel with a total displacement of 4,972cc, a maximum output of 90kW at 2,600rpm and a maximum torque of 392Nm at 1,500rpm.

This, according to Engisch, makes it more powerful than most of its competitors, particularly the Toyota BY 43 and the Isuzu NKR 58.

"The image that our truck lacks power is totally wrong. Particularly in the development of torque, we outdo most of the others in the market," he said.

The quid pro quo is that the MB 800 is more expensive than others category II trucks. It costs Rp 42,966,000, and the MBO 800 Rp 43,230,000. The MMC FE119, by comparison is Rp 40,250,000 and the Toyota BY 43 is Rp 38 million. The MMC FE 447 costs Rp 44.5 million.

Savings have been made in several areas to prevent the cost being even higher. The first is by pushing the local content.

Local content is currently almost 31 percent for the truck and more than 32.4 percent for the bus chassis.

The target for the end of next year is more than 41 percent for the truck and more than 42 percent for the bus.

The increases will come mainly in the chassis and body, and the only part to be totally imported will continue to be the clutch.

A second area where corners have been cut is on the dashboard. Mercedes is using a dashboard from a larger model, which means there are many blank spaces on the MB 800's, making it look somewhat incongruous.

It also says the maximum speed is 200 km/h whereas the truth is that the truck can only do 125 km/h and the bus 115 km/h.

Third, several items, such as power steering and seat belts, are only optional in the truck. Power steering is standard in the bus.

The MB 800, with power steering, handles very well, both on and off road and the leaf spring-based suspension makes for a comfortable ride, although less so for passengers who don't have the steering wheel to hang on to.

But people imagining the acceleration and control of a Mercedes sedan will be disappointed. The truck is surprisingly sluggish until it gets into third gear and the brakes are also applied less rapidly that might be expected.

But it does have the Mercedes name to give it a reassurance of reliability, so, only time will tell whether it finds a market niche.