Aomori roadside assistance provider praises durability of Allison transmissions

TOKYO, July 7, 2020 – The roadside assistance and vehicle repair service provider, Just Body Co., Ltd. (“Just Body”), based in Japan’s Aomori prefecture, has been utilizing a mid-duty “Hino Ranger” truck equipped with an Allison 1000 Series™ automatic transmission since 2006. The vehicle has covered more than 150,000 km without any transmission problems, despite operating mostly on snow-covered mountain roads and other challenging terrain.

During this time, Just Body has become a firm advocate for Allison, in particular praising the durability of its transmissions. The company also cites the drive-ability the automatic transmission affords on narrow, winding roads, allowing their drivers to concentrate on handling and accelerate more quickly, leading to greater productivity.

“Running costs are a key factor. Vehicles with manual transmissions need periodic clutch replacements, whereas Allison automatics require only periodic changes of transmission fluid and filters. We have experienced no mechanical problems over the years. This has significantly reduced our costs,” said Akihito Shirato, Managing Director of Just Body. “We often provide roadside assistance during the night, sometimes on snow-covered or frozen roads. When driving vehicles equipped with Allison automatic transmissions, a driver doesn’t have to worry about operating clutches or shifting gears and is able to concentrate on handling instead. This helps to reduce driver fatigue.”

Allison’s patented Continuous Power Technology™ delivers smoother, seamless, full-power shifts and superior acceleration on hills and highways, boosting clients’ productivity. Use of the handbrake in combination with the parking gear—which is only found on the Hino Ranger with an Allison automatic transmission—prevents the rescue vehicle from sliding backwards, ensuring the safety of the operator. This is particularly important when a broken-down car is being loaded while on a sloping surface. “

We used to drive a car loader equipped with a transmission from another company, but the vehicle was less powerful, less comfortable and there would be large jolts during gear changes,” said Shirato. “Given the increasing demand for passenger vehicles with smoother automatic transmissions, we anticipated that trucks equipped with smoother transmissions would be coming onto the market as well. We combined a Hino truck with an Allison transmission and found this combination to be ideal when driving on roads that were frozen or covered with densely-packed snow. The Allison torque converter delivers the most appropriate level of power to the wheels under any conditions, even on slippery mountain roads. The automatic transmission allow you to start powerfully and smoothly, even on slippery hills. We will definitely select Allison transmissions for our vehicles in the future.”

The demand for trucks with fully automatic transmissions is increasing due to driver shortages, the need for powerful vehicles that are easy to drive and the requirement for cost-effective maintenance and durability. Allison Japan has expanded its after-sales networks throughout the nation and is committed to continually improving the productivity of its customers by supplying superior products and services.

Jul 07, 2020

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Allison Transmission (NYSE: ALSN) is a leading designer and manufacturer of vehicle propulsion solutions for commercial and defense vehicles, the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions, and a leader in electrified propulsion systems that Improve the Way the World Works. Allison products are used in a wide variety of applications, including on-highway trucks (distribution, refuse, construction, fire and emergency), buses (school, transit and coach), motorhomes, off-highway vehicles and equipment (energy, mining and construction applications) and defense vehicles (tactical wheeled and tracked). Founded in 1915, the company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. With a presence in more than 150 countries, Allison has regional headquarters in the Netherlands, China and Brazil, manufacturing facilities in the USA, Hungary and India, as well as global engineering resources, including electrification engineering centers in Indianapolis, Indiana, Auburn Hills, Michigan and London in the United Kingdom. Allison also has approximately 1,600 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide. For more information, visit allisontransmission.com.

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SOURCE Allison Transmission Holdings Inc.