Hino reveals it's vision for 2025 and beyond
The far-reaching document, entitled Envisioning 2025, is driven by Hino’s corporate mission, which is “To make the world a better place in which to live by helping people and goods to get where they need to go.”
“Today human transportation and logistics are increasingly affected by social issues including serious traffic accidents, CO2 emissions and (in certain countries) labour shortages,” says Yoshio Shimo, president and CEO of Hino Motors Limited (HML).
“Hino is committed to helping solve these challenges by tackling them head-on, not only with its own resources but also by working through partnerships and alliances to bring together a greater range of competencies to help solve them,”
He went on to say that Hino envisions “a sustainable world that is prosperous and pleasant to live in”.
This objective is expanded to:
- A world without traffic accidents, where transport is worry-free and safe.
- A world where the transport of people and goods does not tax the environment
- A world where people and goods can move freely and in an optimised manner.
Hino is taking a three-pronged approach to meeting these challenges:
- Developing, manufacturing, and marketing best-fit products that incorporate leading-edge safety and environmental technologies
- Providing total support that is customised for each vehicle operator
- Developing and using new business activity areas.
- Advanced technologies are being utilised to maximise vehicle uptime and minimise vehicle lifetime costs through Hino’s successful Total Support strategy so as to provide further added value to customers.
Actions include upgrading workshops and increasing the training of technicians to improve after-sales support. Provide optimal maintenance planning and just-in-time servicing are other strategies.
In certain markets, these developments will include the use of artificial intelligence and robot technologies, where appropriate and beneficial.
Hino and its dealers are also developing solutions to enhance efficiency in transporting goods and people aimed at providing optimal operations with best-fit vehicles.
Using data to provide value
In addition, Hino intends using the broad range of data it has accumulated on a number of fronts over the years to provide even greater value to its customers around the world.
Besides incorporating added safety and environmental technology into its upcoming range of vehicles, Hino aims to grow its annual sales from the 180 000 units sold in 2017 to 300 000 in 2025. The biggest sales increases are planned for the ASEAN countries, the Americas, China, and “Other” markets. The latter markets include Africa, the Middle East and Russia, with current planning aiming to grow volume in these markets from 28 000 to 52 000 units a year by 2025.
Another objective is to halve new product development lead time through increased use of digital development, with four centres involved with developing new models: Japan, Thailand, the United States and China. Production will also be linked to markets with high demand. This will mean Thailand will be responsible for medium-duty trucks (500- Series), Indonesia will be the core production and export centre for light-duty trucks (300-Series) and China will be responsible for heavy duty trucks (700 Series), while the USA will develop dedicated vehicles for this specialised market.
Hino will work with its alliance partners to reduce the cost of components. This will include a procurement joint venture with TRATON (currently part of the Volkswagen Group) and expanding the use of components sourced from another JV partner, Ashok Leyland in India.
The vehicles themselves will include a growing number of diesel-electric hybrid models as well as full-electric vehicles, with the aim of reaching 100% electrification by 2050, in line with the Hino Environmental Challenge 2050.
A big part of the thrust under the Hino Total Support banner is to increase the number of vehicles that are serviced by franchised dealerships. At present only 30% (525 000) of the 1.75-million Hino units in operation worldwide are serviced regularly by dealers. The aim is to grow this percentage to 50% by 2025, with the number of units in operation expected to be in the region of 2.7 million at that time, due to increased sales volume.
The third prong of Hino’s challenge is to pursue new areas of business innovation which will include connectivity, autonomous driving vehicles, shared vehicles and strategic partnerships with logistics companies, fleet operators and public sector organisations.
Hino believes its three-pronged approach to meeting the stiff challenges it faces will result in consistent shareholder returns, a rise in corporate value and, most importantly, customers benefitting from the company’s ongoing developments, strategies, and programmes.