[Toyota Times] Car Guy Meets Truck Guy, Sparking a Major Private-Sector Reshuffle

Chairman Toyoda

Our 1966 joint statement reads:

“Harnessing their unique characteristics, both companies will be responsible for managing operations.”

However, one thing has always bugged me: I don’t know much about trucks.

I call myself a carmaker, and I know about cars, but the truth is that I was unschooled in the way of trucks. So rather than taking on management responsibilities, I wrestled with the question of how Toyota could best support Hino to enable Japan’s four truck manufacturers—which include Isuzu Motors, UD Trucks, and Mitsubishi Fuso—to shine.

Then Daimler approached us.

My original impression of Daimler was that they wanted to take control and turn all the other brands into Daimler.

However, when I met Mr. Daum, he was nothing like that. He struck me as a genuine “truck guy.”

And when I asked him what would become of the two brands, he told me, “Of course, we want to keep Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso going.”

I decided to go all in, and we continued negotiating. Backed by the efforts of Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino, I feel we accomplished a major private-sector-led reorganization of Japan’s four truck manufacturers, effectively creating two groups.

The fact that we were able to make this happen as a private initiative reflects the resolute commitment of each company.

At Toyota, we also have another company, CJPT, which collaborates with Daimler to develop CASE technologies. We are likewise working with Isuzu, Volvo, and UD to build all kinds of commercial vehicles, cooperating and competing as needed to strengthen our Japanese coalition.