Mitsubishi Forklifts and its local southern African dealer, Masslift Africa Pty Ltd, are introducing a new low-cost, internal combustion forklift, the Mitsubishi Ninja. In other markets, the unit is sold as the Mitsubishi Clasidia.

The Ninja will be available in 2, 2.5 & 3 T diesel, petrol and LPG models. It has an identical powertrain to the current Mitsubishi premium Grendia range. The Ninja has the award-winning S4S, Tier 2 Engine, which boasts very high power output and fuel efficiency

A larger counterweight opening helps to improve heat balancing, which Masslift says is ideal for hot climates such as Southern Africa.

A distinguishing feature of the Ninja is its "minimal electronics (which make) it simple and robust and substantially cheaper to manufacture than other major brands".

Masslift Africa CEO Geoff Tucker says: "It almost seems like Mitsubishi built a forklift specifically for Africa."

Tucker adds that the forklift cuts costs for the user over the machine's lifetime, with fuel consumption ranging from 0.4 to 1.6 litres per hour less than other makes.

"With climbing diesel prices, this could save approximately ZAR100 (USD9.90) a day. The Tier 2-compliant engine is in line with the majority of the other top brands and durable, even using the inferior diesel often found in Africa. It is not often you get an opportunity to sell the most reliable product on the market at considerably less than the other top brands."