The price is right
June 1st 2008

Doosan says its low-cost GX range will attract those with lighter usage and budgets. Brendan Coyne reports

Forklifts are often the first thing rubbed off the budget in tough times. Despite this, Doosan is heading for another record year in terms of UK sales. UK general sales manager, Paul Watson, says the firm is set to sell 1400 trucks this year, equating to nine per cent of the counterbalance market. "Not bad," he says, "considering we've only been here 14 years."

The lion's share will come from the Pro 5 range launched last year and already in use at clients including BA World Cargo, Eddie Stobart, Scott Timber and Allied Bakeries.

But Doosan also expects a substantial chunk to come from the new Chinese-made GX range.

"The GX will bolster sales, not make up for any shortfall, as the current sales figures verify," says Watson. "But they will attract a new client base: people with lower usage and lighter applications who neither want nor need to spend the kind of money that our premium trucks command. And for those facing tightening budgets, who might normally struggle to keep an old truck running, it provides an option to buy brand new." Elementary though they may be, Watson is quick to highlight features not usually present on entry-level trucks. "We have deliberately built them to a high specification, including features such as integral side shift, solid tires, full road lights, suspension seats and the Doosan OSS (operator sensing system), which a lot of our competitors in this sector don't offer.

Put simply, it's a very high specification of Chinese product that delivers high productivity and lower cost of ownership." What the dealers think Paul Brierley, co-founder of Doosan dealer, Genesis, says he was impressed by the GX.

"It's been surprisingly well received," he says.

"We expected it to be more similar to other entry-level Chinese trucks, but it's closer to some of the Japanese models. Aesthetically it's basic but mechanically and engineeringwise it is sound – a lot of the components come from the Pro 5 range anyway." Brierley sees Genesis selling 200 trucks next year, with the GX making up around a quarter of sales. Genesis will also order some GX models for its hire fleet.

Fundamentally, Brierley says the GX is good news for both dealers and the customer because it will replace a lot of refurb business. "Margins aren't great for us on refurb diesels, and customers who might usually spend under £10K on a refurbished truck can be upsold to a GX – because they can benefit from their own low usage.

Otherwise they might be buying a truck that has worked 40 hours a week for three years.

It's better for them and it's better for us." He says the standard Doosan benefits apply to both models: Reliability; driver acceptance; and lower damage bills.

"Compared to some of the European makes, the trucks are less of a damage cash cow for dealers, which means lower cost of ownership. We might make less money on the damage front, but that can otherwise cause friction between dealers and customers. We definitely see lower damage bills." What the boss says Speaking to press at the European launch of the GX range, head of Doosan's global forklift business, Chinwon Park, repeated the firm's intention to become a top five global player by 2010. He also stated that by then, Doosan will offer a full warehouse range to help deliver its ambitious goal.

However, Park conceded that to achieve top five status, it will have to manufacture at full capacity. He said its China plant will not reach full capacity until 2012. According to Park, Doosan will produce 25,000 forklifts this year. The firm aims to produce 50,000 trucks per annum within five years.

More articles from Doosan Infracore Co. Ltd: