Hino Motors, Ltd, commonly known as Hino, is a Japanese manufacturer of commercial vehicles and diesel engines (including those for trucks, buses and other vehicles) headquartered in Hino, Tokyo. The company's predecessor, Tokyo Gas Industry, was established in 1910. It was later established as a corporate spin-off in 1942 under the name Hino Heavy Industry.
Hino began producing passenger cars in 1953, although this production was limited to the 1950s and 1960s. In 1991, the company released the world's first commercially available hybrid transit bus. The company formed a business alliance with Toyota Motor in 1966 and officially became a subsidiary of Toyota in 2001, operating as one of the 16 major companies of the Toyota Group. In 2026, Hino merged with Fuso and became a subsidiary of Archion, a newly established holding company.
History Predecessors Hino's predecessors trace back to the founding of Tokyo Gas Industry Company in 1910. In 1910, Chiyoda Gas Company was established and competed fiercely against incumbent Tokyo Gas Company for supplying natural gas to users. Tokyo Gas Industry was a parts supplier for Chiyoda Gas but it was defeated and merged into Tokyo Gas in 1912. Having lost its largest client, Tokyo Gas Industry Co. broadened its product line including electronic parts, and renamed itself as Tokyo Gas and Electric Industry (東京瓦斯電気工業), TG&E, and was often abbreviated as Gasuden. It produced its first motor vehicle in 1917, the Model TGE "A-Type" truck. In 1937, TG&E merged its automobile division with that of Automobile Industry Co., Ltd. and Kyodo Kokusan K.K., to form Tokyo Automobile Industry Co., Ltd., with TG&E as a shareholder. Four years later, the company changed its name to Diesel Motor Industry Co., Ltd., which would eventually become Isuzu.
Foundation of Hino and Post-World War II history In 1942, a new company called Hino Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. was spun out from Diesel Motor Industry Co., Ltd. During World War II, Hino manufactured Type 1 Ho-Ha half-track and Type 1 Ho-Ki armored personnel carrier for the Imperial Japanese Army. Following treaties signed at the end of World War II, the company had to stop producing large diesel engines for marine applications, so the company dropped the "Heavy" from its name and formally concentrated on the heavy-duty trailer-truck, buses and diesel engines markets, as Hino Industry Co., Ltd. The company took its name from the location of its headquarters in within Tokyo prefecture.
In 1948, the company spun itself into two entities, Hino Diesel Industry Co., Ltd and Hino Diesel Sales. In 1950 the heavy-duty TH10 was introduced, equipped with an all-new 7-liter DS10 diesel engine. An eight-tonner, this was considerably larger than existing Japanese trucks which had rarely been built for more than payload. In 1952, the company introduced the B10/30 (Blue Ribbon) on a European style forward control cabin, a first for Japanese manufacturers. In 1953, it rolled off the ZG heavy truck which became the most sold dump truck in Japan. That year, Hino entered the private car market, by manufacturing Renaults under licence, and in 1961 it started building its own Contessa 900 sedan with an 893cc rear-mounted engine, and a pickup truck called the Hino Briska with the Contessa engine slightly enlarged and installed in the front with rear wheel drive. The Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti redesigned the Contessa line in 1964 with a 1300 cc rear-mounted engine. Fed by two SU type carburettors, this developed 60 hp (44 kW) in the sedan 70 hp (51 kW) in the coupé version.
In 1959, the company adopted the Hino Motors, Ltd. name.
In 1963, the Hamura factory began operations.
Hino Trucks have also been assembled in Norway (1977–85), Portugal and Canada.
Amalgamation with Toyota Hino was in financial difficulties in the 1960s. In October 1966, following some pressure for industry consolidation from the Japanese government, Hino and Toyota signed a partnership agreement (through the Mitsui Bank) by which the former became an affiliate of the latter and focused itself on truck and bus production alongside vehicle assembly under contract. In April 1967, Hino began assembling light vehicles for Toyota, after an influx of employees from the latter to the former. The Hino Briska pickup was rebadged as the Toyota Briska and, in March 1968, the model was used to develop the Toyota HiLux which had more stock parts from Toyota. Hino also assembled the Publica van and sedan. Both companies started to collaborate in purchasing as well as research and development. Hino officially stopped assembling passenger cars in 1969, although continued assembling light vehicles for Toyota (as the Publica van and the HiAce). Up until the 1990s, Hino assembled the HiLux.
In the 1960s, Hino launched new medium and heavy duty trucks (TC300, KF). In March 1964, the company launched the medium duty KM series truck, later named the Ranger.
In the 1970s, Hino introduced the so-called "red" diesel engines with a focus on fuel efficiency and incorporating MAN technology. The company began to increase exports as it had an efficiency advantage compared to most foreign rivals at the time. By the end of the 1970s, export sales surpassed domestic ones. In 1977, Hino launched its first long range coach. In 1981, the company introduced the Profia, the first truck of a new series with improved aerodynamics, engines and cabin.
In the late 1970s, Hino started to form partnerships with other manufacturers besides Toyota. In 1978, it established a technical assistance agreement with Asia Motors. That same year, it established a partnership with the Chinese car manufacturer FAW by providing technical assistance on medium trucks to it, mostly for improving FAW's outdated Jiefanghao range (based on the 1940s ZIS-150). In 1986, it started to license its engines to Ashok Leyland.
Starting in the 1990s, Hino returned to financial difficulties. The company introduced new heavy vehicles (trucks and coaches) and expanded its Asian business to try improving its profitability. Toyota also helped its affiliate by giving it assembly contracts (Toyota Tercel/Corsa, Toyota T100). In March 1997, Toyota increased its Hino stake (at the time 11.4%) to 16.4% and to 20.1% by the end of the year. Toyota also moved all its production and development activities for light trucks to Hino.
In June 1998, Toyota said it planned to take control of Hino. By March 2001, it had acquired a 36.6% Hino stake. Later that year, Hino became a subsidiary of Toyota after the latter increased its ownership to a 50.1% majority stake.
In 2002, Hino and Isuzu merged their bus/coach production and development facilities in Japan into a joint venture called J-Bus. In March of that year, Hino and Scania AB signed a partnership deal by which the former was to take charge of the Japanese sales of the latter. The deal also included the possibility of further technical and commercial collaboration. In December 2006, Scania started to sell Hino trucks in South Korea. In June 2011, Scania left the deal after it opened its own Japanese sales operation.
In 2012, Hino started to move medium and heavy truck production in Japan from its obsolete, cramped Hino plant to a new one in Koga, Ibaraki, which initially produced complete knock-down kits for export. The move was completed in September 2017, as part of a consolidation of the Japanese operations into three main plants: Koga would produce medium and heavy trucks; Nitta (Ota, Gunma), which had already been manufacturing engines for light and medium vehicles and opened a new plant for large ones completed in December 2016 to replace the Hino plant, engines and transmissions; Hamura, lighter trucks and contract assembly for Toyota.
In 2018, Hino and Volkswagen Truck & Bus (later renamed Traton) announced a wide-ranging strategic partnership for activities including procurement, technologies and logistics. In November 2019, they established a procurement joint venture called Hino and Traton Global Procurement, with 51% of it owned by Traton and 49% by Hino. By 2023, the partnership was terminated.
In March 2021, Hino, its parent Toyota, and Isuzu announced the creation of a strategic partnership between the three companies. Toyota acquired a 4.6% stake in Isuzu while the latter plans to acquire Toyota shares for an equivalent value. The three companies said they would form a new joint venture by April called Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation with the aim of developing fuel cell and electric light trucks. Toyota would own an 80% stake in the venture while Hino and Isuzu would own 10% each. In August 2022, after Toyota published the findings of a self-commissioned investigation highlighting that Hino Motors falsified emissions data on some engines going back to at least October 2003, Toyota and Isuzu "expelled" Hino from their partnership. The Hino stake would be given to Toyota.
In May 2023, Hino and its parent Toyota signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Fuso and its parent Daimler Truck for a plan of merging Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso into a publicly traded holding company with equal investment from both Toyota and Daimler Truck.
In June 2025, a definitive agreement was reached with an as yet unnamed holding company to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with Daimler Truck and Toyota each to own 25% of the holding company. In October 2025, the new name for the holding company was announced as Archion.
Canada Hino has been marketing trucks in Canada since the 1970s. Hino Motors Canada Ltd., is the exclusive distributor of Hino products in Canada, and is part of the Toyota Group of Companies, with head office and Parts Distribution Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. In May 2006, Hino Canada opened a new assembly plant in Woodstock, Ontario, employing at first 45 (grown since to more than 70) and with an annual capacity of 2,400 trucks.Hino Motors Canada, Ltd. - Company Profile . Hinocanada.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-16. It began assembly of Class 4 and 5 trucks in 2006 and continued to do so until 2010. Since then, it has been building only class 6, 7 and 8 trucks.
Colombia Hino Motors Manufacturing Colombia (HMMC) is a partnership between the Mitsui group and the Colombia manager for the Hino brand, PRACO-Didacol S.A. The partnership assembles medium and heavy trucks, destined mainly to the export market for the Andinean and Central American countries. The factory was opened on 9 October 2007 in Cota, a municipality near the capital city of Bogotá. From this facility, the FCJ and Hino Dutro (300, 500 and 900 series) trucks are assembled. The Mitsui-Keiretsu is the principal shareholder and owner of this factory. The plant produced the 1000th unit in July 2009. The 20,000th truck was finished on 14 May 2014.
India Hino and Ashok Leyland have had a cooperative agreement for engine production in India since 1986. In 2017, a new agreement was made between them to manufacture Hino's advance diesel engines in India and Hino will procure parts from the local market through Ashok Leyland's Network.
Indonesia PT. Hino Motors Manufacturing Indonesia (HMMI) is strategic production base for ASEAN region. HMMI is in partnership between the Hino Motors, Ltd and PT. Indomobil Sukses Internasional, Tbk. The partnership assembles medium, heavy duty trucks, mainly for ASEAN market. The factory was opened in April 2003, evolving from PT. Hino Indonesia Manufacturing which was opened in October 1982. The factory is located on Purwakarta, West Java. Its sister company PT. Hino Motors Sales Indonesia (HMSI) is formed April 2003. Currently there are 41 dealerships and more than 100 branches, around the archipelago.
Ireland Hino Trucks have been assembled in The Republic of Ireland since 1968 by J Harris on the Naas/Nangor Roads, Dublin.
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