Hino targets India's CV market

Hino Motors Sales India Ltd, a joint venture between Hino Motors and Marubeni Corporation, both of Japan, has chosen Popular Group of Chennai as partner for its first dealership in India in Chennai.

Popular Group is one of the largest automobile dealers in South India with operations across Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, with concessions for the Toyota, Hyundai, and Bajaj brands. Hino is introducing the FM 6×4 and FL 6×2 configurations of its popular 500-series medium-duty trucks. There are also plans to launch a luxury coach built in India on Hino’s RM1 E chassis, according to company officials.

The initial variants will include cabs-and-chassis and completely built-up tippers and reefers, all powered by Hino’s J08 engine. The chassis are imported from the Hino plant in Thailand as SKD kits. Significant value addition by way of application, bodies such as tippers, trucks, containerised vans, refrigerated trucks and buses are being done in India through reputed body building vendors, identified after an exhaustive search and evaluation process.

The company has established its sales and service headquarters in Mumbai and Bhiwandi respectively. The latter includes a central parts warehouse and service and training centre. Hino executive vice-president and director Masakazu Ichikawa led a team of high-level officials that were present at the inauguration of the Chennai dealership. Popular Group MD Saju Thomas was also present. Ichikawa drew the attention of the gathering to the fact that Hino actually entered India well over a decade ago by providing its engine technology to Ashok Leyland. “I believe that this technical transfer made a significant contribution to the Indian transport sector by ushering in fuel-efficient, environment-friendly, and performance-oriented Hino engine technology,” he said.

“We are now bringing to India the most modern range of Hino trucks, tippers, buses and many more applications that will once again contribute to elevating the Indian transport sector to the same levels of safety, performance, and emission standards operators enjoy in the developed economies,” he added.

Hiroshi Nakamura, MD and CEO of Hino Motors Sales India, said Popular Hino would spread its facilities and customer support activity all throughout the State in the immediate future. “I am confident that Popular Hino will provide the best satisfaction, for which Hino is well known globally, to Hino customers in their territories. Our brand is already popular in India through our high-performance engines. Customers in Tamil Nadu were the first to enjoy the benefits of Hino engines almost a decade ago. This time Hino brings to you its complete vehicle.”

He said the company is in the process of appointing Hino dealers in strategic locations all across the country. These will all have contemporary service facilities, equipment, and mobile service facilities, and offer total after-sales, parts and service support. Amol J Sandil, executive vice-president of Hino Motors Sales India, pointed out: “The vehicles we sell in India are of the same specification and same quality standard as those we sell anywhere else in the world. So there is no dilution of quality for Indian market. In fact, there is a plus point for the Indian market. Indian market, by way of Central Motor Vehicle Regulation Act, requires certain additional items to be fitted on to the vehicle.”

He said the company had also homologated its E13 engine series in ratings of 380 hp and upwards, and was going to launch a luxury coach before the end of 2009. “We have supplied a few tippers in Andhra Pradesh, and our order book is continuously growing. Now that we have started assembly in October, by March next year we should do about 700 to 800 vehicles. Our plan for steadying the Indian market for further localisation or assembly is now at the drawing board,” he added. As for the pricing, the FL8JP cab-and-chassis for haulage is priced at Rs 38.5–40 lakh and the FM8J fully built 25-tonne tipper is priced at Rs 45.5 lakh.