
Toyota, Daimler ink Japanese truck units merger deal for April 2026
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Toyota Motor Corp. and Daimler Truck Holding AG said Tuesday they concluded an agreement to merge their Japanese truck subsidiaries under a new holding company, aiming to boost competitiveness and better respond to challenges posed by energy transition and technological innovation.
Hino Motors Ltd., a subsidiary of Toyota Motor, and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., a unit of Daimler, will operate under the holding company to be set up in April 2026 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime Market, with the parent companies each holding a 25 percent stake in the new firm.
The holding company yet to be named will have more than 40,000 employees and be led by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck CEO Karl Deppen, Toyota Motor and Daimler Truck said.
In terms of voting rights, Daimler Truck will hold 26.7 percent and Toyota Motor will have 19.9 percent, they said.
"With our combined expertise, passion and resources, this new company will provide new levels of quality, efficiency and technology to our customers," Deppen said at a press conference on the same day.
Satoshi Ogiso, president of Hino Motors, said, "The industry for commercial vehicles has numerous issues that need to be addressed. We will require even more speed, flexibility and investment."
The merger plan originally announced in May 2023, and initially slated to be finalized in March 2024, had stalled due to a fraudulent emissions data scandal by Hino Motors.
Hino Motors has reported a record net loss of 217.7 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in the business year through this March due to settlement costs related to the data falsification.
The issue came to light in 2022 as the company admitted to submitting fabricated emissions and fuel economy data to transport authorities. It has agreed to settle class action lawsuits in Australia, the United States and Canada.
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