Officially unveiled this week in California, Toyota's “Project Portal” is a fully-functional zero-emission Class 8 concept truck that runs on electricity generated by a hydrogen-fired fuel cell. It's designed for drayage operations and will be part of a “feasibility study” that begins this summer at the Port of Los Angeles. It's also a vehicle that can out-accelerate a diesel-powered tractor, as the video below demonstrates.
read more
...Read the rest of this storyJoe Mejaly Photo: Denso
" >Joe Mejaly Photo: Denso
" width="250" height="308">Denso Corporation is the second largest automotive supplier in the world. Joseph Mejaly, senior vice president operations, sales, strategic planning, and marketing, defines what the company is and shares his thoughts on growing the company's heavy-duty business, e-commerce, and the future
HDT: What do you want people to know about Denso that they don't already know?
Mejaly: I don't think a lot of people realize that Denso is a company that had $40.2 billion in sales in fiscal year 2015 and that $9.9 billion of that was North American revenue. But even more than that, we invest $3.5 billion globally in research and development leading the industry. We employ more than 151,000 people worldwide with more than 22,500 in North America. Our product lines fall into five categories: automotive OE and aftermarket, heavy-duty OE and aftermarket, portable A/C, automatic data capture, and robotics.
HDT: Tell us about the Denso's commercial and heavy-duty business.
Mejaly: Globally that segment had $2.4 billion in sales in fiscal year 2015. We have 15 aftermarket commercial and heavy-duty product lines in the areas of powertrain, electrical and thermal. In the heavy-duty aftermarket we also have starters and alternators and DPF filters.
HDT: You joined the company about 13 months ago; what were some of your early observations?
Mejaly: Denso had done a good job of building an aftermarket network for its light-duty business, but heavy-duty was not growing as well. I wondered why and determined we needed a more clearly defined strategy for growth. We had some key pillars in place like our partnership with CDTI (Clean Diesel Technologies Inc.) for DPFs (diesel particulate filters) and DOCs (diesel oxidation catalysts). Another was the quality of our products. That stands for itself.
HDT: Talk about some of what you have done to grow the heavy-duty business since ...Read the rest of this story
Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) officially took the wraps off its “Project Portal” prototype Class 8 tractor this week – a hydrogen fuel cell system designed for heavy duty trucks operating at the Port of Los Angeles.
read more
...Read the rest of this story
