Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino Merge to Develop Commercial Vehicles

KatadataOTO – Daimler Truck, as the majority shareholder of Mitsubishi Fuso, has agreed to collaborate with Toyota, the parent company of Hino Motors.

The collaboration is intended to develop the commercial vehicle market in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

The joint venture is targeted to start operations in April 2026, where Daimler Truck and Toyota plan to hold a 25 percent stake.

However, the respective parent companies plan to hold their shares in full. There is no information yet on the name of the joint venture and the details of their collaboration.

“Through our new company, we are combining two brands, our resources, competencies, and expertise to support the future transportation needs of consumers,” said Karl Depen, CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso, quoted from an official broadcast on Tuesday (10/05).

Photo : Toyota

On that occasion, he also revealed that he would be the prospective CEO of the joint venture.

It was further explained that the integration of Mitsubishi Fuso with Hino aims to present more competitive Japanese-made commercial vehicles for the Asian market.

All related parties also touched on the need for environmentally friendly commercial vehicles for logistics needs that are currently in demand by global consumers.

A series of technological concepts to be developed by this company are referred to as CASE or Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric, as well as hydrogen.

“Our agreement today is not an achievement, but a beginning. Our company aims to produce sustainable mobility (solutions) and will continue to create the future of commercial vehicles together,” said Koji Sato, CEO of Toyota.

For your information, commercial vehicles, especially for logistics purposes, are considered one of the contributors to pollution.

The use of vehicles such as electric trucks can help significantly reduce air pollution.

Photo : KatadataOTO

However, its environmentally friendly adoption still faces many obstacles. In Indonesia, EV (Electric Vehicle) manufacturers in the commercial segment claim to have conducted studies on this matter domestically.

“Research with VKTR, one thing that makes us take a step back, is that in Indonesia the use of heavy-duty trucks often exceeds the specified limits or ODOL (Over Dimension and Over Load,” said Luther T. Panjaitan, Head of Public & Government Relations at PT BYD Motor Indonesia in Jakarta some time ago.

The habit of carrying excess loads can endanger vehicle users, including on battery-powered electric vehicles.

On the other hand, low tariffs are also a problem leading to the emergence of ODOL. Thus, handling the above problem is like untangling a tangled thread.