It is a pity that whatever is very functional and drives the business has not been given much attention during the design stage, and commercial vehicles are not an exemption. However, the product development process at Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC/Mitsubishi Fuso), one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, has been quietly shifting industry conventions by incorporating a heavy emphasis on design.
Why does Mitsubishi Fuso invest in design?The company continues to invest in this aspect of product development as it believes that a commercial vehicle is more than just about moving something from A to B. Every truck or bus on the line represents an opportunity to provide a perfect tool possible for drivers and logistics operators. Product design for the FUSO brand reaches beyond the pursuit of appearances, marrying form and function to deliver advanced comfort and safety while minimising environmental impact.
At the Design Essentials event held recently at its Kawasaki headquarters, Mitsubishi Fuso showcased its pursuit of a clear identity, simplification, and perceived quality through each stage of its design process for products that serve society’s needs today and beyond. Through demonstrations of its physical design, production design, and advanced design, visitors were invited to discover why, in this age of economy, Mitsubishi Fuso remains committed to perfecting the art of the commercial vehicle.
Comprehensive Approach
Design at Mitsubishi Fuso is situated within a global Daimler network, which allows the team in Kawasaki to mutually exchange ideas with more than 700 counterparts worldwide. Representing this exchange is Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer of Daimler AG, Benoit Tallec, the Head of Product Design at MFTBC and Daimler Trucks Asia, and an international, multi-generational team. The cross-border setup has enabled design at Mitsubishi Fuso to integrate global expertise and world-leading technology while safeguarding the uniqueness of FUSO trucks and buses within the Daimler Trucks lineup. The result is a product range that is at once a continuation of FUSO’s heritage as a stalwart of Japanese ‘monozukuri,’ while also interpreting the forward-looking forms and precision foundational to Daimler vehicles.
In order to keep FUSO’s heritage intact while employing future-forward approaches to design, Mitsubishi Fuso designers have operated with three distinct principles as their driving force – a clear identity (purity and cleanliness in form, as well as design that is immediately recognisable), simplification (more than omitting the superfluous) and perceived quality (strengths, functions and care taken to produce it, should be immediately visible).
Physical Design
The physical design process at Mitsubishi Fuso relies upon traditional Japanese craftsmanship in clay modelling and more recent technology such as data modelling, 3D printing, and NC (numerically controlled) machine milling. Once given a drawing from their colleagues, clay modellers will shape their real-world interpretation of the paper concept. Clay modelling is built on a trial-and-error process with active dialogue between the designer and modeller, repeated until they arrive at a shared ideal. Their physical modelling is translated into data through a scanning device in preparation for digital fine-tuning. The latest technologies in 3D printing and NC machine milling come into play when higher levels of precision are required for more intricately designed sections such as the grill or the FUSO three-diamond logo.
Production Design
The latest model of the light-duty truck Canter, which was showcased at this event, features a renewed cab design for the first time in 10 years with the Black Belt design motif. FUSO designers breathed new life into the Canter’s speedy and light character positioning within the product range with this new motif. The value of the Black Belt design motif is not only limited to exterior design, but also extends its benefits to the vehicle assembly process to improve the superiority of the products. With the adoption of the Black Belt design motif in the Canter, the structure of the front grill now enables greater efficiency in the vehicle assembly process while creating a sleeker, unified look.
Physical modelling is translated into data through a scanning device in preparation for digital fine-tuning. The latest technologies in 3D printing and NC machine milling come into play when higher levels of precision are required for more intricately designed sections such as the grill or the FUSO three-diamond logo.
Colour, materials and finish also play an essential role in production design at the company. These aspects of vehicle interior design directly impact the aesthetic appeal of the final product and enhance a vehicle’s functionality for drivers. The interior of the ‘Rosa’ exhibited at the Design Essentials event provides a sophisticated and luxurious feeling through the choice of colour and material. Simultaneously, designers made sure to distinguish the texture selection for various switches within the cockpit, boosting the intuitive usability of the vehicle.
Advanced Design
The shift to zero-emission trucks and busses and digitisation, automation, and the needs of an ageing society opens up entirely new dimensions for Mitsubishi Fuso design. A professional team dedicated to ‘Advanced Design’ tries to meld expected technical developments with predicted social trends and needs. These designers are currently envisioning the world in 2040. Their role is to shift boundaries and prepare Mitsubishi Fuso and the surrounding society for the future. Furthermore, certain aspects of Advanced Design also flow back into Mitsubishi Fuso’s current series of products.
At the Design Essentials event, the company exhibited its recent concepts for emergency vehicles, including future forms of drones. These vehicles aim to explore further optimisations of natural disaster response in societies like Japan while also examining possible future forms of fully autonomous trucks.
Additionally, visitors were invited to experience the ‘virtual design studio,’ which has recently been established to make full use of cutting-edge virtual reality (VR) technologies and encourage collaboration among global Daimler colleagues. This ‘virtual design studio’ plays an essential role in a post-covid world. With safety a top priority within the company, this technology has helped the Design team stay on track of projects without sacrificing employee health. Through their VR platform, employees based in Germany, Japan, the United States, and India are simultaneously working on projects in the pipeline.
Exhibited Vehicles
The exhibited vehicles are concept models, and these include modular I.RQ (Intelligent. Rescue Truck), an emergency vehicle energised by a fuel-cell drive; the HeliDroid - presented as one possible future vision for a transport drone; the flying Manta - another concept for the future of the drone.