UD Trucks will hold the global final of its international drivers’ competition Extra Mile Challenge 2018 for Quester drivers and Quon drivers over the three days from October 23-25 at the UD Experience Center of the company’s headquarters in Ageo, where finalists will compete to win the title of the ‘ultimate driver.’
The Extra Mile Challenge is based on the company’s brand promise of ‘Going the Extra Mile’ and has been held since 2015. Qualification rounds are held in key UD markets around the world, with several hundred local drivers involved.
UD Extra Mile Challenge is a unique driver competition which reproduces an actual truck operation cycle, with drivers showing their skills in the categories of pre-drive inspection, fuel efficiency and safe driving, and maneuvering and parking expertise. Points are awarded in each category for profitability, fuel cost performance, uptime ratio, maintenance cost, and safety throughout the complete operation cycle. The driver who acquires the most points is the winner, and is honored with the title of ‘ultimate driver’.
Each year the EMC has expanded both in scope and in the number of drivers taking part. Last year the model categories were increased to two: Quester and Quon. This year altogether more than 250 drivers from Japan, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Middle East have taken part in the ultimate driver qualification rounds.
Recently, the shortage of drivers as society ages, and increasingly stringent emissions regulations, are no longer challenges limited to mature economies but are also faced by growth markets on a global scale. Through this event, UD Trucks is leading to the solution of these challenges by developing the highly skilled and highly efficient ‘Smart Driver’ as an indispensible factor in Smart Logistics. UD Trucks’ mission is to provide not only the ‘hardware’ of Smart Logistics through its products and services, but also the ‘software’ in driver training and education. Through the EMC, the company aims to educate the Smart Driver as part of its realiｚation of Smart Logistics.
Ultimate drivers aren’t simply born with exceptional driving skills. Even ultimate drivers had to go through a period of learning and development, spending time on the road, perfecting their skills, mile after mile. One of UD Trucks’ goals is to help accelerate this process to allow more drivers to become ultimate drivers as quickly as possible. This goal has led the company to develop driver friendly trucks and professional driver training programs. That’s why we created the Extra Mile Challenge.
Logistics is the lifeblood of society, and truck drivers are the unsung hero of modern logistics. UD Trucks is committed to making logistics smarter. UD Trucks designs products with the driver in mind, the best trucks for all drivers. In addition to driver-friendly trucks and professional driver training programs, UD Extra Mile Challenge educates and motivates drivers – another example of UD’s commitment to Going the Extra Mile for Smart Logistics.
The UD Extra Mile Challenge video can currently be seen on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHxyJA6Ahkk
