TELEMATICS addition as standard, new body colours and upgraded high-end safety features highlight an updated Fuso Rosa light-duty bus – intended for the Japanese domestic market (at first, at least)- available since August, Mitsubishi-Fuso announced recently.
The new 29-seat ‘Pro line long-body’ Rosa – available through Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) sales companies and regional sales units across Japan – comes with the Busconnect telematics function as standard, which notifies and manages the vehicle’s operational status in real time to bus operators, the company confirms.
The telematics feature allows bus operators to track and manage vehicle location, routing, and drivers’ safety scores, while enabling remote diagnosis in real time, it explains. Through geofencing, Busconnect aids fleet managers in detecting vehicle issues, while also contributing to operational efficiency and the prevention of dangerous driving, it adds.
The new Rosa also complies with various new industry requirements, including J-OBD II standards and noise regulations.
The light-duty bus has been equipped with daytime running lights for increased visibility even during the day, Fuso says. It is now also offered with automatic lights that can help drivers avoid instances of forgetting to turn on the headlights at dusk.
In addition, MFTBC has newly equipped the Rosa with a co-driver seatbelt reminder for greater safety, plus it now complies with Japan’s mandatory seatbelt regulation for extra seats and comes with a fuel tank compliant with the latest standards for fuel leak prevention, it notes.
COLOUR BY NUMBERS
In terms of hues, two new body colours – Ocean Blue and Honey Yellow – are now available for customers, offering welcomed change for some from the traditional de rigueur blank-canvas white of the commercial vehicle world.
Often run as shuttles or school buses, the Rosa plays a crucial role in day-to-day community transport, says Fuso. This small bus will continue to, “…evolve to provide a safer, more efficient and more comfortable experience on the road for all,” its press statement explains.
As for performance, the Japanese-market 2RG-BE740G-model Rosa produces 128kW (175PS) via its 4P10+(T6) engine, transferred to the rear wheels via a six-speed Duonic transmission.
AT A GLANCE
Busconnect is a Fuso telematics function that enables the online tracking of real-time operational status; the information transmitted by the bus is gathered in the cloud-based Fuso database via mobile data connection. Users can track the current location and operational status of a vehicle by accessing a dedicated page on their PC or smartphone, Fuso explains. It covers a range of business needs, such as vehicle-issue detection and response, improvement of vehicle operational efficiency, and the prevention of dangerous driving, Fuso confirms.
A separate usage agreement is required to enable this service, it adds.
ABOUT FUSO
Based in Kawasaki, Japan, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) is one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, with 89.29 per cent of its shares owned by Daimler Truck AG and 10.71 per cent by various Mitsubishi group companies, it confirms.
An icon in the Japanese commercial vehicle industry with a longstanding history of more than 85 years with its Fuso brand, MFTBC manufactures a range of commercial vehicles including light, medium, and heavy-duty trucks and buses, and industrial engines for more than 170 markets worldwide, it states.
MFTBC operates under the umbrella of Daimler Trucks Asia, together with its partner organisation Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) in India.
.jpg)
Photography: courtesy MFTBC