Mitsubishi Motors Corp. next year will introduce an extra-light, environmentally friendly truck that has an aluminum chassis, marking a world first for the automaker.
The lighter truck will have a greater load capacity and consume less fuel than trucks with traditional iron chassis, company officials said.
The truck is expected to be based on MMC's Super Great model, which has a loading capacity of 10 tons. It will be several hundred kilograms lighter than the base model as the truck bed will also be aluminum, they said.
MMC may devise common aluminum parts with its German parent, DaimlerChrysler AG, to offset the increased expense of using aluminum, the officials said, adding that mass production of the new truck will also help the automaker overcome the added costs.
MMC plans to display a concept model of the truck at the 36th Tokyo Motor Show -- Commercial Vehicles (2002), to be held in Chiba between Oct. 29 and Nov. 3.