A definitive agreement is set to be signed in the first quarter of 2024, with the transaction to be completed by the end of 2024, pending legal and regulatory approval. Whilst details remain sparse, the goal is to unify their efforts in commercial vehicle development, procurement, and production in order to build a globally competitive Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturer.

Both companies will be making Class 8 electric trucks using fuel cell drive systems developed by Japanese firm Toyota, with Kenworth aiming to begin customer deliveries next year.

The dissolution decision follows a meeting of the Hino board on April 26, 2023.

Hino looks to compete in the LCV market against other Japanese brands in competetive SE Asian market.

A driving test carried out with a Battery-Electric Vehicle (BEV) using SiC inverters showed the efficiency gain that can be expected. The test showed that the power loss was reduced by more than half compared to a vehicle with inverters using conventional silicon technology.

The company is set to supply 60 hydrogen-powered H2.City Gold buses to the Strasbourg public transport operator CTS (Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois) which will operate in the city of Strasbourg in France, making it the biggest hydrogen bus order in French history.

This will require the integration of wireless technology into new commercial vehicles released in the market in the future as well as the collaboration to shape the standardisation of wireless EV charging.

Green hydrogen will be produced using Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser system equipment developed by Toyota and used at the Denso plant in Fukushima.

Hino pulls out of Russia.

Toyota is is investing around JPY400bn in Japan and JPY325bn, or USD2.5bn, in the USA to expand its battery manufacturing capacity by up to 40 GWh. 

CJPT, a research joint venture into alternative propulsion systems, decided that Hino's past wrongdoings - which includes falsification of data during emissions testing of its engines - were incompatible with its zero-carbon goals.

CJPT in Japan, a technology development partnership company and JV involving Toyota Motor Corporation, Hino Motors Ltd (a Toyota subsidiary) and Isuzu Motors Ltd, has announced a programme to research a standard, commercial, swappable and rechargeable battery cartridge for use in electric vehicles.