Hino has declared that it will continue to hitch its wagon to hybrid drivelines as the industry battles to reduce carbon emissions.
Speaking with Australian truck journalists at a recent media briefing, Hino Australia boss Richard Emery said the company would ramp up its commitment to Hybrid technology both with the 300 series light duty models, which are already available here and with its flagship 700 Series heavy duty models, that are yet to be released with hybvrid drivelines here .
Emery said customer trials of 700 Series hybrids should start in the New Year, with the heavy duty hybrid already on sale and working in its native Japan.
Emery believes that sales of the 300 Series Hybrid could be significantly increased from its current rate of around 300 units per annum and has challenged his team to increase the number of 300 Series hybrids to around 1000 a year.
“You’ve already seen us ramp up on our commitment towards hybrid electric, so we want to really concentrate on these two products over the next two years,” said Emery said.
“We still think there’s significant growth opportunity in hybrid electric anyway, and 700 Series has never really hit its tracks.”
Emery has signalled the desire to bring the heavy duty hybrids down under, with the Japanese based, Toyota controlled truck maker still a way off having a major footprint in the battery electric ecosphere or in having a viable full battery electric truck solution.
The Hino would not be drawn on the well documented Toyota claims that solid state batteries will be the real game changer in zero emission vehicle power, when they are predicted to come to market around 2028. It is fair to say that both Toyota and Hino’s apparent tardiness in introducing or embracing pure electric models may well be linked to solid state battery innovation may have a lot to do with the arrival of the new tech.
Toyota has predicted that solid state batteries should double range and halve charging times, making battery electric vehicles far more viable than they are at the moment.
Before that however, Emery says that hybrids are the most practical and realistic solution for everyday truck operators, particularly for fleets seeking to reduce emissions, but not ready to spend the added investment required for full battery electric and the challenges that come with that including charging and range limitations.
For the past year or so Hino has tried a subtle rebrand for its hybrid technology, calling them Hybrid Electric Trucks, however nothing can be taken away from the fact that the prime source of power for these trucks is the diesel internal combustion engine they run.
Emery emphasised that 70 per cent of electrified vehicles or alternative fuel vehicles in the Australian market are hybrids.
“When we look at our sales history we were kicking along the bottom there about 25 sales a year, and in 2022 that went up to 72 on a 75 vehicle target. Last year, we sold 220 on a target of 250, this year we’re up over 350 in terms of order intake, so in terms of what our plan was for hybrid, we’re on that pathway for that 1000 hybrids a year,” Emery said
Emery said the company is being very realistic about the approach to the transition that’s going to happen over the next couple of years, adding that the overall situation has multiple layers and solutions.
“I know we we have copped some criticism, along with Toyota, as part of that family of companies, that we have had our heads in the sand on the matter of battery electric vehicles,” Emery admitted.
“However, just like Toyota, we can take exception to that, because we’ve had hybrid trucks reducing consumption emissions in Australia for 15 years or so, and we are ramping up our marketing and volume as we see them as a unique offering with real world benefits now within the markets coming our way,” Emery said.
The Hino boss said the company continues to invest in all of the zero emission technologies whether it is hybrid, battery electric or hydrogen fuel cells.
“No doubt the move to ZEV and the move to hydrogen fuel cell will accelerate and our business continues to invest in all those things and we’ll have fits and starts, and there’ll be surges where, whether it be because of incentives or whatever else primes the market, make no mistake, when that tipping point comes, we expect that we’ll Hino will be at the forefront of that because we’re part of our biggest automotive group in the World,” said Emery.
“For now however, our job is to offer the best all round solutions for the current business and customer environment, and at the moment that is ICE and hybrid electric,”
“Hino with Toyota continues to trial our solutions for improved technology, not just on ICE engines, but with hybrid electric, battery electric and fuel cell drivetrains investments that together run into billions, and we have trial programs in Japan on all of these technologies,” Emery added.
Hino proved that it is not excluding current tech battery electric trucks. On hand for the media to inspect at the briefing in the city of Orange in central Western NSW was a Hino Dutro Z-EV van. The light duty Japanese spec battery electric truck based on a Dutro or 300 Series platform was fitted with a ‘van style’ with low flat floors wide opening side and back doors and a walk through capability. Although we didn’t have the opportunity to drive the Dutro, it presented a potential new niche for Hino, not only in body design but in zero emission potential.
Emery did confirm however that the Dutro Z-EV is being tested and trialled in Australia in an effort to better understand the technology and how it can be improved for our conditions. He didn’t give any indication of when such a truck might find it’s way on to Hino showroom floors.
Emery also indicated that the relationship the company has had with battery electric conversion and engineering operation, SEA Electric was still in existence but although he didn’t annunciate it, the tenor of the comments indictated that it was possibly not in great health.
SEA Electric was sold to a Canadian venture capital company earlier this year and while there have been discussions about Hino continuing to sell the ‘knock down roller kits’ to SEA for fitment of electric drivelines, it is clear the relationship is not in a strong position.
“We have had discussions with the new owners but I am not sure about the long term future of the SEA operation in Australia,” Emery told T&B News.
“The SEA Electric trucks are sold under their compliance plate, not a Hino plate, Hino sells the CKD kits to SEA and they have a relationship with Hino dealers to sell their electric trucks,” he said.
“SEA has an ongoing relationship with Hino in Noth America which helps them meet strict requirements in states like California but I am not sure about the long term future of that operation, time will tell,” he said.
To demonstrate Emery’s point about the usability and versatility of the Hino Hybrid truck chassis the company showcased a hybrid tilt tray Hino at the Bathurst 1000 acrioss the same weekend it was briefing the truck media in Orange.
Similarly the company showed off a truck that it said ideally met the needs of local councils, with a Hybrid tipper fitted with an electric PTO (power take-off), which allows the operator to power the tipper without the diesel engine running, reducing emissions wen the vehicle is stationery but working.
