While briefly looking back on how we came to consider this collaboration, I would like to talk about our four companies’ shared desire.
The starting point of this collaboration is the shared desire to create the future of commercial vehicles together, by leveraging the strengths of Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino to protect our business foundations in Japan and Asia.
Two and a half years ago, Daimler Truck’s then-CEO Martin Daum and Toyota’s then-President Akio Toyoda began this collaboration based on a shared vision and sense of values.
Companies with different histories and cultures coming together like this meant we needed to overcome various challenges.
Although there were times when differences in ideas on how to move forward with integration were hard to bridge, our four companies took the time to repeatedly engage in dialogue and deepen mutual understanding, driven by the empathy and trust shared by the leaders.
I believe that our unwavering commitment to the future of commercial vehicles enabled us to overcome difficulties and keep moving forward toward integration.
In the course of our discussions, Daimler Truck CEO Karin Rådström shared the following thoughts.
Daimler Truck values being a company rooted in the local community. The integrated company should be a truly global company rooted in Japan.
I couldn’t have agreed more.
Mr. Deppen, who will head the integrated company, is the right person to lead a truly global company rooted in Japan.
He has been involved in the Japanese truck industry for more than 20 years and has extensive global experience.
Under Mr. Deppen’s leadership, I believe that Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino will be able to create synergies through this integration, while honing the manufacturing capabilities that both have cultivated as truck manufacturers.
This integration will not only secure the scale needed to compete globally, but also bring the strengths of Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino together to expand their respective areas of expertise, accelerating technological development and increasing production efficiencies.
Going forward, the two companies will work together to strengthen their business bases in Japan and Asia, and Daimler Truck and Toyota will support the integrated company in improving its competitiveness, based on CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric) technologies.
Also, we would like to apply our four-company framework to accelerate the implementation of CASE technologies toward solving social issues surrounding commercial vehicles, including achieving carbon neutrality.