Hotai Motor Co., Taiwan’s largest automobile distributor, is acquiring 80% stakes in five Hino Motors dealerships across Japan in what the company characterized as its biggest overseas investment to date.
The two-phase transaction totals approximately NT$10 billion ($310 million). Hotai will initially pay ¥27 billion ($174 million) for controlling interests in dealerships located in southern Kanto, Hokkaido, eastern Hokkaido, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures. A second phase authorizes up to ¥22.3 billion ($144 million) for real estate acquisitions tied to Tokyo-area operations.
The deal closes April 1, 2026, bringing Hotai an operation that sells roughly 12,000 vehicles annually—about 32% of Hino’s domestic volume. The five dealerships reported combined pretax earnings of NT$1.5 billion ($46 million) in fiscal 2024.
Hotai has served as Hino’s exclusive Taiwan distributor since 1952 and claims over 40% of that market for commercial vehicles. Company officials said Hino approached them as part of a broader restructuring triggered by Toyota Motor Corp. and Daimler Truck’s planned integration of Hino with Mitsubishi Fuso. That merger, expected to create a new holding company by April 2026, will unite Japan’s two major truck makers under joint Toyota-Daimler ownership.
Whether Hotai can replicate its Taiwan success in Japan’s mature commercial vehicle market remains uncertain. Operating foreign dealerships presents different challenges than distributing vehicles domestically.
