Daimler Trucks Asia has opened a new product and design center for its Japan-based subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation, maker of Fuso brand trucks. At least some of its focus will be riveted on developing electric trucks, the OEM noted.

The center, located at the OEM’s plant in Kawasaki, includes the corporate headquarters and R&D and design functions. It is part of a large-scale modernization at MFTBC, known as Campus Plus, into which Daimler Trucks has invested some € 74 Million (over $83 million) since 2017.

“The Fuso brand is an essential and successful member of Daimler Trucks,” said Martin Daum, board member of Daimler AG responsible for Trucks & Buses, at the facility’s grand opening in mid-March. He said that in 2018, MFTBC contributed “about one-third of total sales and [it] plays a vital role when it comes to future topics such as electric driving.”

Daum added that the new center at the Kawasaki plant “manifests that we are continuously investing in the future of Fuso and Japan.”

The new Fuso center is one of the most advanced Design Centers within Germany-based Daimler AG, according to Daum,. The OEM stated that “about 50 experts in design, digital design, and engineering work on the major task to define a common design strategy to all future Fuso vehicles.” That effort is referred to as “the Fuso Code.”

The Fuso team currently is working on the next generation of Canter andeCanter trucks. Daimler stated that “another objective is to work on the specific challenges of an e-truck. As an e-truck is part of a bigger ecosystem, the Fuso designers constantly think about all touch points and create one experience for the customer, e.g. with charging stations.”