Toyota Motor’s Hino Motors and Daimler Truck’s Mitsubishi Fuso are finalizing merger plans with a Tokyo Stock Exchange listing targeted for April 2026, reviving a deal first announced in 2023 but delayed by Hino’s emissions scandal fallout, Nikkei reported.
The two automakers initially reached an agreement in May 2023 to combine forces, but the merger timeline faced delays due to regulatory hurdles and Hino’s ongoing engine certification investigations. With Hino agreeing to pay a $1.2 billion penalty to U.S. authorities in January 2025, most compliance issues have been resolved, allowing talks to progress.
The four companies expect to finalize the merger agreement as early as May, with the Japan Fair Trade Commission’s antitrust review nearing completion. The plan calls for a holding company that would own both truck manufacturers in their entirety.
While Toyota currently holds a 50.1% stake in Hino and Daimler Truck owns 89.3% of Mitsubishi Fuso, the new structure will give both parent companies equal ownership stakes. Notably, Toyota’s voting rights will be limited to under 20%, potentially reflecting antitrust concerns given Toyota’s partial ownership of Isuzu Motors.
The merger comes as truck manufacturers face industry-wide challenges including electrification, autonomous driving technologies, and new competitors. Daimler Truck CEO Martin Daum previously emphasized the financial demands of these transitions, noting, “We are accelerating toward zero emissions, but there is one major challenge and this is the required funding.”
The combined entity would control approximately 14% of the global medium and heavy-duty truck market, creating a formidable competitor as Japanese commercial vehicle makers consolidate into two camps: the Hino-Mitsubishi Fuso alliance versus Isuzu and its subsidiary UD Trucks.
