September 2010 marked the 25th anniversary of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America, Inc. (MFTA) in North America. The company said it celebrated its Silver Anniversary milestone on Sept. 14 with a gathering of employees, key members of the community, local and state government officials and its business partners, as well as representatives of its dealer council and executives from its parent company, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), based in Kawasaki, Japan.
MFTA first opened its doors Sept. 10, 1985, in Logan Township, N.J. In 1986, the fledgling company sold 89 trucks and enlisted 41 new dealers. Four years later, with strong growth already established, MFTA introduced the industry’s first 4-wheel drive cabover, which remains the only factory-manufactured cabover 4×4 in North America. In 1993, with sales continuing to grow, the company constructed a $2 million parts warehouse facility in New Jersey to serve its growing dealer and fleet customers, and in 1999, expanded into Canada, according to the company.
By 2001, MFTA had sold 60,000 trucks across the U.S. and Canada. A year later, the company said it unveiled the FE Crew Cab, with the capacity to seat seven comfortably. The year 2004 saw a new line of FE and FG model (Class 3 through Class 5) medium-duty cabover trucks, redesigned from the ground up to provide unsurpassed reliability and vastly improved operator comfort and efficiency.
In 2005, Mitsubishi Fuso offered a supplement to its 3-year/unlimited-mileage bumper-to-bumper warranty with a 5-year/175,000-mile (FE/FG models) or 5-year/250,000-mile (FK/FM models) powertrain limited warranty. Today, its 5-year powertrain warranties remain an industry exclusive. In 2007, the company introduced redesigned FK and FM models, and in 2009, expanded its operations once again — this time into Puerto Rico. The same year, MFTA signed its 200th dealer, and celebrated 10 years of sales growth in Canada. Finally, in early 2010, as it approached its 25th anniversary, Mitsubishi Fuso delivered its 100,000th truck in North America, according to the company.
Todd Bloom, president and CEO of MFTA, noted in his remarks, “We and our parent company remain committed to the North American marketplace. Plans are being developed now for the introduction of exciting next-generation products, and we continue to build a dealer network that takes great care of our customers. The future of MFTA here in North America is indeed bright.”
