Hino South Africa (SA) is introducing a limited number of diesel-electric hybrid models in its 300 Series range to the local market, says Hino SA VP Anton Falck.

“We are initially importing 32 units, with eight of them already in the country.

“These first eight will be operated by Namlog for their transport contract at the Toyota Africa Parts Centre in Ekurhuleni,” he adds.

“Three of these trucks are in service already and a further five will be added shortly. The remaining 24 hybrids will be distributed to major fleet operators.”

All of the hybrid trucks will operate on Toyota’s international Kinto subscription scheme, which means that one inclusive payment a month will cover the subscription, service and maintenance fees.

Insurance cover is provided by Kinto Protect. This is optional for fleet operators, but mandatory for private individuals.

Falck says he welcomes the arrival of the fuel-saving Hino hybrids at a time of significant diesel price increases owing to the conflict in the Middle East.

The Hino 300 hybrids have recorded fuel savings of between 15% and 30%, depending on the type of operation, with the added benefit of a minimised carbon footprint.

Falck says Hino SA will this month also start testing a prototype dual-fuel truck that runs on diesel and hydrogen.

Hino Aims for 3 000-unit Sales
Hino SA sold a total of 3 178 trucks in the domestic market last year, giving the local arm of the Japanese truck maker a 10.2% share in the truck market.

This is slightly down on the 3 343 units sold in 2024, at a 10.8% share of the market.

This year promises much the same results as last year, with Hino recording total sales of 930 units in the first four months of 2026, with the company confident of again exceeding the 3 000-unit mark for the year.

Hino Motors, Japan, in April merged with another Japanese truck maker, Mitsubishi Fuso, into a new company, Archion.

Despite this global development, Fuso in South Africa will remain part of Daimler Truck Southern Africa, with no changes to local operations, dealer networks or aftersales support for either Hino or Fuso.

“Sales by Hino and the other Japanese truck manufacturers are showing more resilience than their European counterparts in a global automotive industry that is in greater turmoil now than ever in its 150-year history,” notes Falck.

Uncertainty about the future, changing legislation, tariff barriers, as well as rapidly rising energy prices are among the challenges that vehicle manufacturers face in these tough economic times, he notes.

As South Africa is integrated into global supply chains, it means that the country is  also affected by the global unrest.

“Here, in South Africa, we have a well-established vehicle manufacturing sector which supports many component makers and employs a substantial workforce.

“However, they now face a changing situation where increasing numbers of vehicles are arriving at South African ports as built-up imports. This is another gamechanger that we, the local manufacturers, must face.”

Hino trucks are assembled at a semi-knockdown facility at Toyota’s Durban plant. Hino is a Toyota group company.

Falck adds that Hino SA is “very proud” of its performance in the local Datatrack quarterly customer care survey of 13 truck brands.

“We were again in first position in the first quarter of 2026 combined ranking for sales, service and parts with a total of 99.69, which is well above the national average of 95.76.”

This is the twelfth consecutive quarter that Hino has occupied the number one spot.

This result comes despite a glitch in the supply of some parts.

“In partnership with Hino Motors in Japan, Hino SA made the strategic decision earlier this year to transition our parts supply directly from Japan to South Africa, moving away from the previous supply route through Hino Motors Europe,” explains Falck.

“As with any major transformation project, we experienced unforeseen operational challenges during implementation.

“Unfortunately, these challenges impacted the availability of certain service filters within our dealer network and affected some of our customers.

“However, I am pleased to report that we have made substantial progress in stabilising our parts supply operations. Our ‘Allocation Fill Rate on First Request’ has now returned to approximately 95%, approaching pre-transition performance levels.”

Hino Care Gap Cover
Hino SA last year introduced an enhancement to its customer offering through the launch of a six-year drive-train warranty across its truck range, extending coverage from the previous two-year warranty period.

This year, the truck maker will launch Hino care gap cover, which will complement the six-year drive train warranty and replace the previous Hino extended warranty programme.

Hino care gap cover offers customers broader and improved warranty protection on listed components, such as enhanced coverage on cooling systems and electrical components.

* Falck spoke at a media briefing at the Nampo agricultural show held in the Free State in May.