SHAH ALAM: Asia has been identified as the third hub of Scania after Europe and South America, with Malaysia remaining an important market for the company in the region.
Scania Asia and Oceania regional director Anders Gustafsson said this was while every market had its own distinctive economic characteristics influenced by factors such as culture, country size and customers’ profile, companies segregated in Asia relied on three main categories.
He said the first category involved a country where Scania had been present for so long, such as South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.
“These markets have stable platforms with a steady growth as seen in several parts of Europe such as Sweden and the UK,” he said at the Scania 2018 Best Regional Team Final in Shah Alam on Saturday.
Also present was Scania Southeast Asia managing director Marie Sjödin Enström.
Gustafsson, who is present in Malaysia to witness the regional competition, said the next category was a potential area that offers great opportunities, namely China, Thailand and Japan.
“We see China, Thailand and Japan having huge growth potential. China sold one million trucks last year, three times European sales, but only about 5,000 of the vehicles were imported, while Japan focused on premium-quality products in accordance with Scania's strategy,” he said.
The final category is new emerging markets like the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and India.
He said one aspect of which Asia had grown quite differently compared to Europe was its sustainability. In other words, The Asian market were less driven by customer demand, but more than government initiatives and mega cities that radically want to reduce the level of air pollution, traffic congestion and economic effectiveness.
Held at the Scania Malaysia headquarters in Bukit Jelutong, the regional final features the best service technicians from Australia, Dubai, Iran, Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Singapore, New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia.
Themed “Driving the Shift”, the competition is in line with Scania's global commitment to being a leader in the transition to a sustainable transport system.
The regional round saw the presence of champions from Asia, Oceania and West Asia who had won national competitions in their respective countries last year.
For the regional competition, each team of five technicians will go through five practical challenges and five theoretical challenges they will be assessed in terms of logistics, methodology, technical knowledge, in addition to team discipline and working ability under pressure.
Only the top four teams will go to the finals of the Scania Top Team World Finals to be held at Södertälje, Sweden next December where they will compete with eight other teams to share 100,000 euros (RM486,000).
Malaysia is represented by the Scania Malaysia team of Ipoh branch, known as Pendekar Penyu.