Hino, Mitsubishi Fuso to integrate management next April

NHK

a day ago

Two major Japanese truck and bus makers have completed a merger agreement. Hino Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus announced on Tuesday that they will integrate management on equal footing on April 1st next year.
Mitsubishi Fuso CEO Karl Deppen will become the CEO of a new holding company.
He said, "Strong competition from new, large volume competitors is more fierce than ever. At the same time, we all have to step up significant investment. This is why our industry scale matters and this is why the Japanese market cannot support so many commercial vehicle manufacturers."
Under the agreement, Hino Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus will become wholly owned subsidiaries of the holding company.
Currently, Hino is part of the Toyota Motor group, while Mitsubishi Fuso is owned by Daimler Truck. Toyota and Daimler Truck will each hold a 25 percent stake in the new company.
Ogiso Satoshi, President and CEO, Hino Motors said, "By combining the expertise and scale of our firms, we will get synergistic business effects on development, procurement and production. The synergy from combining two different cultures will be immeasurable."
The two truck and bus manufacturers will work toward achieving carbon neutrality and co-develop next-generation technologies such as automated driving while sharing expertise from each other's specialties.
They are aiming to expand their business in Asia and other markets.
The two companies had initially planned to complete the merger by the end of 2024.
The earlier plan was postponed as Hino had been involved in a scandal over falsified test data.
Through the merger, Japan's commercial vehicle industry is expected to realign into two blocs: The Hino-Mitsubishi Fuso group and the Isuzu Motors group.