Toyota Confirms Plans to Merge Hino Motors with Mitsubishi Fuso
Toyota Motor Corp. has confirmed its plans to merge its truck-making subsidiary, Hino Motors, with the rival Mitsubishi Fuso, owned by Daimler AG. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to merge Hino and Fuso into a publicly-traded holding company with equal investments from both Toyota and Daimler Truck Holding AG. The newly partnered Hino Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. will be collaborating on commercial vehicle development, procurement, and production, with the goal of becoming a “globally competitive” Japanese truck maker with an emphasis on serving Southeast Asia as the primary market.
The shuffle comes as Toyota’s Hino digs out of an embarrassing emission and fuel efficiency scandal and as Daimler looks to streamline its commercial truck holdings. Emissions issues are becoming incredibly difficult for manufacturers to contend with, especially for commercial vehicles that need to keep costs and complexity down to help with fleet sales. However, it sounds as though Toyota and Daimler want their truck division to chase down modern trends, with vehicle development focusing on achieving carbon neutrality and supporting the development of hydrogen, autonomous, connected, and electrified technologies.
Additional details of the merger are supposed to be decided over the next 18 months, with a definitive agreement expected in the first quarter of 2024 and the deal closing by the end of next year. Assuming this is a complete merger, the joint trucking arm is also likely to need a new name. The deal could fall through before next year, but with both brands having suffered trouble in recent years, it makes sense for their parent companies to chase down synergies in the hopes that it’ll yield something they can both profit from while sharing the investment burden.
The merger is not the hottest news for automotive enthusiasts, but it remains a massively important deal for anybody tracking the broader industry or who happens to have a penchant for flat-faced box trucks. Despite being ideal for hauling heavy loads in dense urban areas and longer routes in a pinch, smaller box trucks have been losing ground to the likes of the Ford Transit and Mercedes Sprinter.
According to Toyota CEO Koji Sato, “behind this collaboration is our four companies’ strong desire to create the future of commercial vehicles together.” The companies want to become a globally competitive Japanese truck maker with an emphasis on serving Southeast Asia as the primary market. Mitsubishi Fuso CEO Karl Deppen stated that “simply put, the world is changing, and our industry needs to change with it.”
The involved businesses want to focus on achieving carbon neutrality and support the development of hydrogen, autonomous, connected, and electrified technologies. The deal could fall through before next year, but with both brands having suffered trouble in recent years, it makes sense for their parent companies to chase down synergies in the hopes that it’ll yield something they can both profit from while sharing the investment burden.
