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Hino - Goes beyond Quality
Story and photographs by Dave Scott

Gas and Electric - Hino's history can be traced from Tokyo Gas and Electric Industry Company in the 2nd decade of the 1900's to the new millenium at the Hino Motors 21st Century Centre. This modern complex serves as a training and conference centre and includes the Hino Museum.

Understanding Japanese culture is very difficult, even for the well informed. This truth extends into the value systems which drive their mighty corporations and is compounded, in turn, by specific corporate cultures of individual companies and their production plants. So, on a recent visit to Hino Motors Ltd, Japan's largest heavy truck and bus manufacturer, I asked himself: "What would South Africans like to know about Hino as relevant facts in an African context?" In this special feature, we provide what we feel will give South Africans a better understanding of the much respected and admired Hino marque.

A visit to the Museum is a must for any technocrat who loves the mechanics of vehicle history and wishes to touch the real thing. Seen here is a pic of one of the early models leaving the Tokyo Gas and Electric Company.

In South Africa, Hino trucks are sold and supported through Toyota SA Trucks with this relationship going back to 1972 when Toyota South Africa launched the marque on the local market. It is thus understandable that Hino is often erroneously regarded locally as a Toyota product. It is not. Hino in Japan is a separate marque albeit a member of the Toyota Motor Company family.

Who and what is Hino in the world context?
Hino is Japan's biggest manufacturer of all trucks over 8,5 tons gross vehicle mass (GVM) - 22 232 sold domestically during 2000 giving them a leading 28.8% market share. Hino also ranks as the second biggest Japanese large bus manufacturer having sold 2 132 buses into the Japanese domestic market after Mitsubishi's 3 580 large buses during 1999.

In Japan, it's neck and neck for first place in the heavy truck and bus market between Hino and Mitsubishi. This is irrelevant in South Africa as Mitsubishi forfeited its place in the sun during the early eighties. In South Africa, it is Hino and Toyota that lead the local Japanese truck market share.

Consistent Quality - Hino City may be an old manufacturing site but has been upgraded with the latest technology. Many processes are robotic and of course, robots do not need eyes to watch their efficiency so the lights are switched off to save energy. As these robots operate in gloomy darkness, Hino plants are a visual disappointment for a visitor. By contrast, fully automatic spray booths are well lit and carefully monitored for a perfect finish. Entry into the area is via airlock doors to prevent any ingress of dust. Robots ensure consistent quality, you won't get 'Monday' or 'Friday' trucks.

High Technology - Hino's ASV-2 is a practical experiment of integrating high technology, heavy trucks into an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) that is expected to become a multi-billion dollar industry in the future - looking as far ahead as 2015. This truck incorporates : Driver snooze warning - monitoring of vehicle path and steering behaviour measures a driver's alertness levels. Lane deviation prevention system - audio and visual warning systems for lane wandering or unsafe driving practices (a great one for SA taxis!). Rear warning system - alarms for obstacles at the rear and side that can cause an accident. Rear following distance warning - provides visual display of rear traffic behaviour. Front under-run protector - to prevent passenger vehicles from sliding under in the event of a front-end collision. Distance cruise system - maintains uniform distances between vehicles. Touch screen driver information systems.

Hino also ranks among the world's top ten diesel truck manufacturers in terms of both annual production and exports.

Monster Truck Normal-Control Hino models were produced around mid 20th century. One no longer sees normal-control trucks in Japan - there is just no space for the inefficiencies of this design concept. We did however, notice that Hino still produces the ZY, a monster 6x4 normal-control truck with double chassis for off-road operations.

Going beyond Japanese borders, Hino is Japan's 2nd largest exporter of trucks and buses - 10 629 during 1999, only 134 units behind Mitsubishi but well ahead of 3rd placed Isuzu at 9 465 and Nissan Diesel being 4th at 6 947 units. The relevance of Africa for Hino's world export markets must be seen in perspective. The whole of Africa takes not even 3% of Hino's annual export production. Compare this to the Americas at 22%, Asia at 50% and Oceania at 17%. Hino also exports 6% of it's production to Europe - twice that of Africa.

Yet, as small as South Africa is in export terms, Hino has a permanent representative here - popular Harry Horiuchi - and has hung in through the most difficult challenges during the ADE and ASTAS era by localising components and gaining market share under our punitive local content legislation.

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