en.Wedoany.com Reported - Anton Falck, Vice President of Hino South Africa (SA), stated that Hino is introducing the limited-edition 300 Series diesel-electric hybrid model to the South African market.

The company initially imported 32 units of this model, with eight already arriving in South Africa. The first eight units will be operated by Namlog for its transport contract at the Toyota Africa Parts Center in Ekurhuleni. Three trucks are already in service, with five more to join soon. The remaining 24 hybrid vehicles will be allocated to major fleet operators.

All hybrid trucks will adopt Toyota International's Kinto subscription plan, which involves a monthly fee covering subscription, service, and maintenance costs. Insurance is provided by Kinto Protect, which is optional for fleet operators but mandatory for individual users.

Falck welcomed the launch of Hino's fuel-efficient hybrid models amid significant diesel price increases due to the Middle East conflict. The Hino 300 hybrid model can achieve fuel savings of 15% to 30% depending on the type of operation, while also reducing the carbon footprint. Hino South Africa will also begin testing a dual-fuel truck prototype using diesel and hydrogen this month.

Hino South Africa sold a total of 3,178 trucks in the domestic South African market last year, capturing a 10.2% market share. This represents a slight decline from 3,343 units and a 10.8% market share in 2024. This year's performance is expected to be similar to last year, with Hino selling 930 units in the first four months of 2026, and the company is confident of again surpassing the annual sales target of 3,000 units.

Japan's Hino Motors merged with another Japanese truck manufacturer, Mitsubishi Fuso, in April to form a new company, Archion. Despite this global change, Fuso in South Africa will remain part of Daimler Truck South Africa, and there will be no changes to the local operations, dealer networks, or after-sales support for Hino and Fuso.

Falck noted that amid the most severe upheaval in the global automotive industry in 150 years, Hino and other Japanese truck manufacturers have shown more resilient sales than their European counterparts. Future uncertainties, legislative changes, tariff barriers, and rapidly rising energy prices are challenges facing automakers. South Africa is integrated into the global supply chain and is therefore affected by global turmoil. He pointed out that South Africa has a mature automotive manufacturing industry that supports many component manufacturers and employs a large workforce, but is currently facing an increasing number of finished vehicles arriving at South African ports as complete imports, which is a game-changer for local manufacturers.

Hino trucks are assembled at the knockdown assembly plant at Toyota's Durban factory. Hino is a member of the Toyota Group.

Falck added that Hino South Africa is "very proud" of its performance in the local Datatrack quarterly customer care survey, which covers 13 truck brands. In the combined ranking for sales, service, and parts in the first quarter of 2026, Hino again ranked first with a total score of 99.69, well above the national average of 95.76. This marks Hino's twelfth consecutive quarter at the top.

This result was achieved despite minor issues with parts supply. Falck explained that Hino South Africa made a strategic decision earlier this year to transition parts supply directly from Japan to South Africa, moving away from the previous route through Hino Europe. As with any major transformation project, unforeseen operational challenges were encountered during implementation, affecting the availability of certain service filters in the dealer network. Currently, the company has made substantial progress in stabilizing parts supply operations, with the "first request fill rate" recovering to approximately 95%, close to pre-transition performance levels.

Last year, Hino South Africa introduced a six-year powertrain warranty for its entire truck range, extending the previous two-year warranty. This year, the company will launch Hino Care Gap Insurance as a supplement to the six-year powertrain warranty, replacing the previous Hino Extended Warranty plan. This insurance provides customers with broader warranty protection, covering listed components such as cooling systems and electrical parts.

Falck made these remarks during a media briefing at the Nampo agricultural show held in the Free State province in May.

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