Hino plans Thai truck plant

Hino plans Thai truck plant

TOKYO (Dow Jones): Hino Motors Ltd., hoping to boost its sales in Southeast Asia, may start making its own small trucks in Thailand, instead of simply assembling those of Toyota Motor Corp., Hino said Monday.

Last month, Toyota lifted its equity stake in Hino to 50.1 percent from 36.6 percent, providing the struggling truckmaker with Y66.39 billion to beef up its two-ton truck business and offshore operations. Hino is now Toyota's fully fledged truck- making arm.

The two companies are discussing the possibility of switching production from Toyota's recently remodeled "Dyna," currently assembled by Hino Motors (Thailand), to Hino's own-brand two- to three-ton truck, modeled on the Hino "Dutro" sold in Japan, a Hino spokesman said.

Talks center around not only the assembly, but also the production of small truck components, some of which will be made at Hino's Thai plant and others procured from local suppliers, he said. At present, the Thai plant only uses parts imported from Japan for Dyna assembly.