Hino Motors is the largest truck manufacturer in Japan and are part of the huge Toyota Motor Corporation. The company can be traced back to 1910, with its formation being in the natural gas service industry and related equipment manufacture. The first lightweight truck was introduced in 1917, but this was just a “sideline” to the main business. After mergers, the company became part of Automotive Industry Co. Ltd., and by 1941 became Diesel Motor Industry Co., Ltd. A year later, in 1942, the company, which is headquartered in the city of Hino in Tokyo, Japan, changed its name to Hino Heavy Industry.
At that time, Hino, like all the big manufacturers, focused on the WW-II conflict and built a large number of heavy duty vehicles for the Japanese military, including the 4×2 TH model. When the war ended, the company became known as Hino Diesel Industry Ltd. and began focusing on manufacturing commercial buses, trolleys, trucks, trailers and diesel engines. Hino continued to build the TH series, which also included the TA and HD model options.
The TH was a general purpose chassis for a host of applications, the TA was aimed at the dump truck market, and the HD was a tractor unit. All the models were fitted with the DS50 six-cylinder diesel engine, a 5-speed gearbox, and an electric/air operated 2-speed rear axle. Shrewdly, the company introduced the weight rating at 14,000 lbs. gross, when most of the Japanese competition were building 12,000 lbs. chassis. The TH series showed its longevity by being updated and manufactured until the latter part of the 1960s.
The ZC 6×6 and the 4×2 half cab, along with the ZG 13, which were tough, purpose built off-highway dump trucks, were introduced by Hino in the early 1950s. Later, COE models were also introduced, like the 4×2 KC 300 and the twin steer TC 30 6×2, which both had the same all steel cab, and could also be tilted. In 1959, the company was once again renamed Hino Motors, and then in 1966, they merged with Toyota Motors. Since then, Hino has concentrated on manufacturing heavy duty trucks.
The late 1960s saw the introduction of the ZM and the modern HH models. The ZM was a conventional style truck which had a big following in Japan, and the HH was an up to the minute COE with a tilt cab. Hino has always been the epitome of a rugged truck, with solid chassis frame fabrication and all steel, welded, constructed cabs – and both models were no exception. Both were configured as a 6×4, and the ZM was fitted with the direct injection ED100, an inline six-cylinder diesel engine, rated at 235-hp. This engine was coupled to a 5-speed, two stage air/electric, switch operated gearbox, giving ten ratios. The final drive axle was a basic double reduction type with differential locks as an option.
The HH model had a choice of two engines – the ED100 and the EF100 – which was a V8, rated at 270-hp, and the transmission was the same as the ZM. The modern cab was set high, clear of the engine, and could be easily tilted by one man, giving excellent access for maintenance and repair to the motor. There were also other variants in the range, like the HE, a 4×2, and the WG model, which was a 6×6.
There is also an Irish connection to Hino. The Republic of Ireland and UK connection with Hino began as a dream of Robert Harris (1942-2017), who is remembered as a pioneer, that ultimately changed the face of the entire commercial vehicle industry in Ireland. Harris was so impressed with a Hino he saw at a motor show, that he began an association with the Japanese manufacturer. His intent was to be granted the assembly and sales rights for his company in Ireland for light and heavy duty vehicles. J. Harris, which was formed by John Harris, was given a license by Hino to assemble and sell vehicles shipped from Japan. Harris began in the 1960s by importing the Hino trucks as completely knocked down kits (CKD) for assembly at their facility in Ireland.
The product line began originally with two demonstrators – the KA 300, a four wheel truck, and the TH 340, a tractor unit. The KA 300 was rated at 32,000 lbs. when operated solo or 64,000 lbs. with a draw-bar trailer. The truck had a 10-liter diesel with an output of 200-hp, fitted with an exhaust brake, coupled to a 5-speed gearbox. Final drive was through a double reduction 2-speed rear axle, and standard equipment included a tilt cab, power steering, and air actuated brakes. The TH 340 was sold by Harris for 60,000 lbs. gross combination weight (GCW) operations and had an 8-liter engine producing 160-bhp at 2,400 rpm. Both these models had been sold for quite a while in Japan, but were a bit outdated, especially the TH 340. The business soon gained a reputation amongst Irish haulers for the truck’s toughness and reliability, subsequently gaining a significant market share.
Progressing into the 1970s, a new truck featured heavily in the orders received by Harris. Enter the HE 300 tractor unit (mentioned earlier), which was downrated from the original 70,000 lbs. GCW to 64,000 lbs. for the Irish market. The HE had the same engine and specifications as the older KA 300 but was designed and fitted with stronger components to deal with the greater payload. In 1979, Harris replaced the standard 6-speed Hino gearboxes with the Fuller RTO 9509A 9-speed unit in the HE. Soon, the order book was filling up, and then there was interest from operators in Northern Ireland. Later, Harris began marketing trucks in the rest of the UK and a number of dealerships for sales and service emerged in England, Wales and Scotland.
The Hino ZM model was a truck of interest for the engineering department of Harris. The ZM was only available as a 6-wheeler in various configurations from the Tokyo factory. The company shipped in the truck as a 6×4, but Harris saw the potential of developing the ZM as an 8×4 for the Irish and UK dump truck markets, rated at 64,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight (GVW). Later, Harris grew his portfolio further, to include selling Isuzu trucks in 1985 and Iveco trucks in 1994, dominating the Irish heavy goods vehicles market.
In January 1988, the Harris Group announced plans for a huge distribution and spare parts plant near Catterick, North Yorkshire, England. The plan for the site was to set up a complete British Hino assembly plant, which was to be completed before 1992. The original ambitious plan didn’t happen, and the large site at Castlevale Park eventually became a new truck distribution and after sales and service facility. The site closed a number of years later.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Harris, as there was opposition from the UK government, manufacturers, and haulers, accusing Harris of selling the Japanese trucks “through the back door” into the UK. In those days, the UK had a large number of truck manufacturers (sadly, today there aren’t any). Hino couldn’t import directly to the UK, but because there were no barriers between most European countries, the Japanese vehicles assembled in Ireland could be shipped to the UK. However, to be registered in the UK, the trucks had to comply with British Construction & Use Regulations and other criteria.
Harris continued to assemble Hino trucks up until around 2014. The reason behind his demise was the fact that Hino had decided not to produce engines that were compliant for the Euro 6 emission regulations – in fact, they had struggled with being compliant with the Euro 5 regulations. Furthermore, Hino had been accused of falsifying engine certification software since 2003, which they later admitted to in 2022, and then agreed to pay a $1.6 billion fine.
Over the years, Hino has been linked with other truck manufacturers, like the UK ERF in 1983 and the Dutch DAF in 1992. There were even talks about a joint venture with DAF, but at the time of those talks, the world truck market had gone stagnant. Nevertheless, Hino wanted to break into the European market. In March 2002, Hino and Scania signed a strategic agreement for the purpose of establishing a long-term business alliance, and the first step was for Hino to market Scania tractor units to be sold in Japan. The alliance didn’t last long, and later, Scania began selling their own trucks in Japan under other arrangements.
The selling of Hino products is global, with facilities in 90 countries outside of Japan, including Canada, USA, Columbia, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, Russia, Australia and New Zealand. In some of these countries, more growth has been seen with truck sales than even in Japan. After marketing trucks there since 1974, Hino opened a new assembly plant in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada in May 2006. In 1984, Hino entered the US market and established a firm footing, assembling class 4-7 trucks in plants, including Williamstown, West Virginia and Mineral Wells, West Virginia.
Today, in the USA, Hino touts a “ultimate ownership experience” with their current L Series and XL Series medium duty trucks. Both models are nicely appointed and have many safety features and power options. Fitted with the proven Cummins B6.7 diesel engine, of which 13 million have been made, and mated to an Allison transmission, the L Series sets the standard for reliability and durability, while the XL Series features the larger Cummins L9 engine, for more power and larger payloads. As a leader in the vocational truck market, Hino trucks are perfect for applications like box vans, wreckers, dump trucks, local fuel delivery, snowplows, ambulances, utility companies and more.
Always forward thinking, Hino introduced the first electric-diesel hybrid medium-duty truck to America in 2012. A global technology company called SEA Electric, which was founded in Australia but is now based in the US, developed a proprietary, all-electric, SEA-Drive power system that can be adapted to both urban delivery and big commercial transport fleets worldwide. In 2020, SEA Electric partnered with Hino Trucks USA on “Project Z” – a new all electric truck – which is paving Hino’s way to zero emissions.
Last year, it was announced by the Toyota Motor Corporation and Daimler Truck that an agreement had been reached on merging Hino Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., which is not too surprising, since Hino has always been a fan of partnerships, mergers, joint ventures and re-branding (they always do what needs to be done to move ahead and stay relevant). Their commitment to being “more than a truck” is reflected in everything they do, and for that, Hino has earned a solid reputation throughout the world.