Dive Brief:
- Toyota Motor Corp. and Daimler Truck have agreed to merge their subsidiaries Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino Motors as equals to create a “Japanese truck powerhouse,” according to a June 10 press release.
- The deal will lead to a new holding company — which will be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange — that is expected to start operations in April 2026.
- Toyota and Daimler will each aim to own a quarter of the holding company, which will be led by Karl Deppen, current CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso.
Dive Insight:
This isn’t the first time Toyota and Daimler have tried merging their respective commercial vehicle subsidiaries.
In May 2023, the companies announced an almost identical deal that would have resulted in a 2024 integration of Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino. However, Hino’s U.S. emissions scandal stalled the transaction.
Earlier this year, Hino agreed to plead guilty to the decades of emissions testing violations and pay over $1.6 billion in criminal and civil penalties, according to a Department of Justice release. The OEM also reported a 217.8 billion yen ($1.5 billion) net loss in relation to its North American certification in fiscal 2025, per its annual report.
Following the plea agreement, Hino is also not allowed to import any of its diesel engines into the U.S. for a five-year probation period.
Notably, automotive industry challenges like carbon neutrality and logistics efficiency will be one of the focus areas for the newly combined company.
“We are bringing together two strong partners to form an even stronger company and to successfully shape the decarbonization of transportation,” said Karin Rådström, CEO of Daimler Truck, in the release. “Together, Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino Motors have great potential to leverage scale―and scale is key to win in the technological transformation of our industry.”
Through the integration, Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino will look to improve business efficiency in development, procurement and production, therefore enhancing the competitiveness of Japan-based commercial vehicle manufacturers. Additionally, the company seeks to strengthen the global commercial vehicle industry through the development of connected, autonomous, shared and electric technologies, including hydrogen.
“We are shaping the industry by bundling our strengths,” Deppen said in the release. A longtime veteran of Daimler Truck, Deppen was named president and CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso in 2022.
The parties say that additional details about the collaboration are forthcoming, including the name of the holding company.
