Hino Australia has reiterated it will continue to focus on developing its hybrid electric truck models as it prepares for a delay in producing certain heavy vehicles for the local market.
With global emissions issues leading to a delay in the brand’s research and development process, there will be delays for the unveiling of Hino’s 300 and 500 Series Euro 6 compliant vehicles.
At a Darwin business briefing yesterday, Hino Australia president and CEO Richard Emery said the brand expects to deliver more than 5,000 units to local customers this year, matching its 2024 efforts.
After recently passing 150,000 unit sales in Australia, Emery expects Hino to experience a dip in sales in the next year as emissions issues globally has delayed Hino’s ability to deliver Euro 6 compliant vehicle models to the Australian market.
“In 2022, emissions issues put out engineering teams on the back food and halted work on new projects as we had to re-test our previous models,” Emery says.
“We worked with our parent company Hino Motors globally and Australian regulators to certify every model we have on sale, even ones that we no longer sell in the market.
“That work finished late last year and was done without us having to halt the sales of our models.”
Emery says it’s important to note that all Hino products met certification requirements without needing a re-work. However, it delayed the brand’s ability to have vehicle updates ready for the arrival of ADR 80 in November this year that requires Euro 6 emissions standards to be implemented.
“In simple terms, we won’t meet the Euro 6 introduction timeline for some of our models,” he says.
“We ceased production of the 500 Series last year, and existing stock production is supported until the end of this year. Production won’t re-start until October next year on the Euro 6 model.”
There will also be a gap in production on the 300 Series model. In the meantime, Hino is turning its focus to technology that pre-dates any emissions issues in its hybrid electric space.
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Hino’s hybrid electric technology was first launched in 2007, with the brand leading the way in this space in Australia for many years. With the technology also already meeting Euro 6 emissions compliance regulation and avoiding any supply issues, Hino is preparing to expand its hybrid capabilities.
“The continue focus is on our hybrid market – I make no apologies for continuing to concentrate on hybrid,” Emery says.
“Hybrid provides a perfect interim option – diesel powertrains will remain the pre-eminent solution in the Australian trucking industry beyond 2030, battery electric is and will be a key part of fleets and will emerge, while hydrogen will also play a role, but we believe hybrid electric will remain the only high volume, lower-emission truck in Australia over the next decade. Hino is currently the only manufacturer to offer one.”
Emery says Hino is the only brand in Australia that is currently working on all of these drivetrain solutions through Hino Motors, having started trials for a heavy-duty Profia (700 Series) hydrogen truck more than two years ago.
“As our competitors begin to offer diesel options that meet Euro 6 emissions compliance (like our Hybrid Electric does), the gap in monthly lease payments between hybrid and diesel will continue to decrease,” he says.
“Furthermore, interest is increasing in 2025 – at the end of May, we were at 71 per cent of the total Hybrid Electric deliveries in 2024.
“Our recent fuel efficiency test around the iconic Mt Panorama circuit and surrounding streets of Bathurst replicated the conditions of a local delivery operation – almost 300 kilometres of testing showed fuel savings of up to 24 per cent in Wide Cab variants and 22 per cent in Standard Cab, which reinforces our customers’ expectations.”
Emery says there’s a sweet spot that currently exists for hybrid electric truck customers.
“The balance between cost, range, payload, maintenance and resale are all critical measures when determining which technology works for any application – increasingly, a Hybrid Electric hits that sweet spot while also reducing emissions,” he says.
Planning for the medium-term future, Hino Australia is currently undertaking customer trials with light-duty Dutro (300 Series) Z-EV (Zero Emission Vehicle) to determine their feasibility in the Australian market.
“This will ensure that when the time comes in Australia for full-scale electric vehicles, Hino will have a product that meets our customers’ needs and specifications,” Emery says.
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