Last May, Daimler Truck, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), Hino Motors Ltd. (Hino), and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) decided to work together, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to speed up the development of new technologies for commercial vehicles.
The collaboration between these four (literal) giants includes merging MFTBC and Hino with the goal of creating a strong, global commercial vehicle company. Both Daimler Truck and Toyota plan to invest equally in this project.
The goal is to make better trucks and buses that use connected, autonomous, shared, and electric (CASE) technologies - less fuel and are better for the environment or work towards carbon neutrality and improving mobility. The carmakers hope to make better vehicles and be more competitive with the merger between MFTBC and Hino.
Initially, the plan was to sign the final agreement for merging MFTBC and Hino by March 2024 and finish the merger by the end of 2024. However, the brands are still working on getting all the necessary approvals from regulatory bodies, along with the ongoing investigations related to Hino's engine certifications. Due to these delays, the timeline for finalizing the merger has been extended.
More information will be shared by the companies as soon as they complete their agreement and start merging as soon as they have a clearer timeline for the investigations. Currently, they still need the approval of their directors, shareholders, and authorities to move forward.
Even with some delays, the companies are positive about this collaboration. They are looking at how MFTBC and Hino can work together more efficiently and how Daimler Truck and Toyota can improve technology development, believing that the partnership will benefit not only their companies but also customers and the automotive industry in Japan and Asia.
