Japanese truck builders Hino Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso have announced a merger and intend to become a publicly listed company. Both brands revealed that the union is on equal footing. Though the new truck maker from Japan will operate globally, its prime focus will be on the Southeast Asian market.

As Hino Motors is fully owned by Toyota and Mitsubishi Fuso for 89% by Daimler Truck, the signed memorandum of understanding is very much a deal between a German and a Japanese manufacturer.

Memorandum of understanding

Both companies will receive an even share in the new company and have committed to an equal investment to grow the truck business. A substantial share of the company will be offered to external shareholders. A memorandum of understanding isn’t binding, so the deal could still fall through.

However, if everything goes according to plan in the coming months, the agreement is supposed to turn definitive at the beginning of 2024. Because of the preliminary nature of the deal, there hasn’t been any information on whether the emerging company will go by a new name or keep marketing jointly developed trucks under Hino and Fuso, household brands in the Asian region.

A lifebuoy?

Reading from the statements from the CEOs of the companies, the decarbonization challenges of today’s commercial vehicle business are the main driver behind the merger. More specifically, the collaboration will focus on hydrogen as a zero-emission solution, a hobbyhorse of Hino owner Toyota. The benefits must primarily come from synergies, procurement and production.

For Hino Motors, the merger is also a lifebuoy. The company fell into disgrace last year when it was revealed that the company had been cheating with emission and fuel economy data, forcing to halt production of trucks at some of its production plants. The misconduct could be traced back to as far as 2003.

“Fierce global competition”

On the new chapter, CEO of Hino Satoshi Ogiso commented: “We will (…) accelerate advanced technology development to overcome the increasingly fierce global competition. Through these efforts, we will strive to tackle societal challenges such as achieving carbon neutrality.”

Hino teaming up with Daimler isn’t the first time a Japanese truck maker reaches out to a player from the West. Back in 2007, Nissan sold its commercial vehicle department to Volvo.