The policy may be to relax the long-term truck can usher in new opportunities


Speaking of long trucks, the generations after 80s and 90s may only think of Optimus Prime in Transformers. When we look back at the glorious years of China's long trucks, we may have to trace back to the "old liberation" CA10 of the 1950s. Liberation 141 and so on. From the mid-1980s onwards, with the entry of European and Japanese truck technology, long-haul trucks have gradually become heroic, and flat-head trucks have become the mainstream of China's truck market.


However, recently the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the “Contract Vehicle Outline Size, Axial Load and Quality Limit” issued by GB1589-2012 for public comment (hereinafter referred to as the “opinion”). It seems that people have seen the long-cherished hope of reviving trucks.

Advantages Many policies relax good geometry

There are many amendments and new additions to the draft of this release. Among them, the relaxation of the restrictions on the length of long truck drivers has attracted widespread attention in the industry. According to the new regulations, the maximum limit of the length of long-axis articulated trains is 18,100mm. Compared with the GB1589-2004 version, the maximum limit of the length of articulated trains is 16500mm, an increase of 1600mm.

Compared to the flat mid- and heavy-duty truck market, which currently sells nearly a million cars each year, sales of about 20,000 long trucks have undoubtedly shown its marginal status. Due to the narrow demand in the Chinese market, it only concentrates on some special regional market segments, such as some large logistics groups and individual special industries, such as the shortening of containers at the port and economical dump trucks.

In fact, despite the fact that flat-head trucks now dominate the country, long trucks are even more dominant in vehicle safety, comfort, fuel economy, and maintenance convenience.

First of all, long trucks are more secure. The long truck driver and passengers are located on the rear of the engine and the front axle. The front engine compartment provides a longer buffer distance for accidental collisions and provides better performance in terms of safety. According to a report from the University of Michigan's Institute of Highway Safety, in the event of an accident, the death rate of long-distance occupants is 28% lower than that of flat cars; the energy-collision zone in which long cars grow nearly 2 meters is determined. Long heads are safer than flat heads. At the same time, the length of the cab of the long head truck is lower and the center of gravity is lower than that of the flat head truck, which greatly reduces the chance of rollover in the collision.

Second, in terms of comfort, the long trucks also won. Because the front engine does not occupy the cab space and the floor is relatively low, the cab can accommodate more living facilities such as a larger sleeper, refrigerator, etc. Moreover, since the engine is no longer under the cab, long trucks have lower internal noise. In addition, the long truck seat is positioned between the front and rear axles, which has a relatively good shock absorption effect, which helps to reduce driving fatigue; while a flat-head truck, the driver is basically placed on the front axle, and despite the shock absorption measures, it cannot be avoided. From the impact of the chassis, and the heat of the summer, the heat emitted by the engine also makes the driver feel prepared.

Second, the better aerodynamic design of the long truck brought about an increase in fuel economy. A large number of tests and experiments show that the long streamer's better streamline shape and lower drag coefficient can reduce fuel consumption by 10% to 15%. The head-up truck has a larger cross-sectional area than the long head vehicle, so the wind resistance is relatively large, so the high-speed fuel economy cannot be compared with the long head. From this point of view, the promotion of long trucks will be of great benefit to energy conservation, emission reduction and economic transportation.

Finally, it is the convenience of maintenance. Because of the front engine, the long truck is more convenient to use and maintenance than a flat-head truck. It is only necessary to open the engine compartment lid during maintenance without turning the cab over and the driver can easily approach the engine. In addition, the long head truck is more humanized in cab height, door and step design, lower pedal position and larger area for the driver to climb up and down and enter and exit the cab.

US market: long head truck counterattack <br> <br> Disregarding advantage of the special circumstances and competitors flathead trucking truck Chinese market aside, the limited length of the vehicle has been considered the long head of the truck from the brilliant to the lonely The main policy factors, and industry speculation that policy relaxation will stimulate long-haul truck revival, is largely based on the history of truck development in the United States.

The history of flat trucks in the United States can be traced back to the 1930s. In contrast to China, before 1986, the U.S. market was dominated by flat trucks. Before the 1980s, American truck manufacturers and European manufacturers such as Navistar, Kenworth, Peter Bilt, Mercedes, Volvo, etc., all produced flat trucks.

This situation was mainly caused by the American road conditions and federal regulations at the time. Since the 1950s, with the start of construction of the highway, the federal government has reduced the total length of the tractor from 12.8 meters to 19.8 meters and then to 22.9 meters. Although the length limit of the vehicle is more relaxed, the regulations have always limited the length of the entire vehicle (including trailers). In this case, the "short head" truck has a natural advantage over the long head truck. Saving out of space can satisfy the need for users to transport more and longer goods.

By the 1980s, the construction of the U.S. interstate highway was completed and new laws were issued. The restrictions on the total length of the truck were removed. Instead, only the length of the trailer was restricted, and it was no longer the maximum limit, but the minimum. value. On the basis of the minimum value given by the federal government, each state has its own degrees of freedom. It can formulate its length according to its own actual conditions. Its purpose is to achieve maximum cargo capacity while reducing logistics costs. It is this fundamental policy change that has made the policy advantages of flat-head trucks disappear, and the long trucks are on the same starting line. After that, the long trucks gradually took over in the United States and became the new masters of the American truck market.

Then, can China's policy changes bring about a major reversal of the truck market like the United States?

China's national conditions are different too early <br> <br> spring market in recent Valin Singapore and Malaysia in mid-2015 during the Business Conference, China Industry News reporter interviewed Valin Star Ma Motor Company Chairman Liu Hanru, he said they were not We are optimistic about the long-term prospects of trucks in the Chinese market, and Hualing Xingma does not have a development plan in this area for the time being.

“Across the globe, only the United States, Canada, and Australia have sparsely populated countries. Because of the developed highway system, the market for long trucks is relatively wide; in densely populated areas with scarce road resources, such as Europe and Japan, The advantages of trucks are more obvious: Although China is a vast country with vast land, it is densely populated, with more mountainous areas and poor road conditions. And the turning radius is also large, especially in climbing and cornering, it is more harm than good.” Liu Hanru said, “And from the economic point of view, although the restrictions on captains in China have been relaxed, they are still different from the United States. In other words, like the US policy before the 1980s, it was the total length of the vehicle that was limited, not the length of the trailer. Most of the truck drivers in China worked hard to support their families and gave priority to the ability to carry goods. Not comfort, they may be willing to lengthen the trailer box for flat-head trucks instead of selecting long trucks. Overall, I think the long head of the truck is not suitable for the current Chinese market. "

Indeed, in the flat-truck-based truck market, only the northwest and Hebei regions still have long-haul truck users. Due to the limitations of long trucks in the Chinese market, there are fewer and fewer companies that are currently adhering to the production of long trucks, such as FAW Liberation CA1091 and CA1092 long trucks, Anqi of FAW Jiefang Liute, Dongfeng Liuqi Longka, Heavy truck deterrence and so on, but basically all concentrated in the low-end market, this positioning led to its cab configuration is lower than the mainstream flat-bottom product, comfort is not as good as a flat-head truck, lost a long truck itself Great advantage.

The high-end long-headed trucks are not without attempts, but the market outlook is not optimistic. As early as 2011, Dongfeng Tianlong also launched a long truck model. However, it only stayed in prototypes and was not put into mass production. In the Dongfeng Tianlong Truck Driver Contest Grand Final held in Shiyan, Hubei Province recently, Huang Gang, general manager of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd. talked about the status quo of limited sales of high-end heavy trucks in China. He said that while pursuing higher comfort and safety, The number of truck users is increasing, but most drivers are still pursuing the high efficiency and low cost of transportation, and those with higher price sensitivity are more value-conscious.

A marketing manager of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle also believes that compared with the United States where the truck and transportation industries are very mature and the degree of privatization of trucks is relatively high, there is still a certain gap between the purchasing power of truck users in China and even American truck drivers have formed. The unique truck culture, including personalized grading graffiti for trucks, etc., is clearly unrealistic in China. Moreover, in the overall sluggish truck environment this year, the sales of high-end trucks have also been greatly affected. At this time, the policy is relaxed. Most companies may adopt a wait-and-see attitude and will not rush to put the production of long trucks on the agenda. .

Similarly, the heavy import of long-heavy trucks is difficult to develop in our country's market. The price of heavy headed heavy-duty trucks such as Steiner, Duff, and Navistar is more than 800,000 yuan or more, and most Chinese are willing to accept long-haul truck users. The price range that can be afforded is 300,000 yuan. 500,000 yuan, or even slightly lower than the price of a flat car.

More importantly, since long-term no long-haul trucks are used as the main product for production R&D, the overall technical level of long-haul trucks has lagged behind. Both safety and performance and fuel economy are difficult to meet today's market demand. There are only a few companies that already have R&D and production of long trucks. If a company wants to develop a new car, the conversion of the model means that the cost of the investment will be very large, and it will also bring about the existing flat-truck truck business. huge stress. From this point of view, the introduction of the new regulations is good for companies that already have long trucks. However, those car companies that have not prepared in this regard will not rush to make attempts because of policy changes.

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