By Kim Tae-jong
MAN Truck & Bus (MTB), a leading international manufacturer of commercial vehicles, said it will develop Korea into an important strategic market for its globalization Wednesday in line with the launch of a new model here.
“We believe if you want to be successful in Asia, you must be successful in Korea,” Thilo Halter, CEO of MTB Korea, said during a news conference at the Mayfield Hotel in Seoul. “Korea is a very important export market. You have a highly-developed truck and car industry, and Korea is exporting (many items) to other countries. If we want to be successful in the rest of the world, we must understand Koreans. We must compete in Korea.”
The conference was held as part of a launch event of the Munich-headquartered firm’s new TGX EfficientLine, one of its flagship truck series.
The new model was first introduced in Europe last year and became a hit with about 7,000 sold. The automaker said the new vehicle has enhanced economic efficiency compared to previous ones, which will be as appealing in Korea as it is in other countries. As the new model consumes less fuel, it will help lower vehicle operating costs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the company said.
Given the importance of the market here, the Korean branch was recently promoted to the headquarters of the East Asian region under the leadership of Halter. As a latecomer to the Korean market, MTB also plans to introduce a different range of trucks here, first focusing on heavy ones and later expanding its scope to smaller ones.
Halter said success in Germany and the rest of the Europe will benefit the firm in the Korean market, citing the similarity between Koreans and Germans.
“What I have learned so far is that there are quite a lot of similarities between Koreans and Germany,” he said. “Korea is also a high-tech country, and you have very sophisticated drivers and buyers who have high demands on quality. We have been in Europe for 250 years and we have been very successful in Germany and I believe we can transfer a lot of this know-how we have collected in Germany here.”
To be successful, he also said they will have more opportunities to listen to customers in order to better understand their needs.