Hino today held its groundbreaking ceremony for its 43 acre, RM140 million factory at the Sendayan Tech Valley, Negeri Sembilan.
This is its first plant in Malaysia and follows its 30 year history of contract assembling its trucks in the Toyota factory (ASSB) at Shah Alam, Selangor.
“Malaysia is a very important market for HINO. Excluding Japan, Malaysia is now the third largest in the world after Indonesia and Thailand.
“This manufacturing plant is a strategic investment that will equip Hino with sufficient supply and the readiness and flexibility to meet the growing demand in this countryâ€, said Hino Motors Ltd president, Mr Yasuhiko Ichihashi.
According to Hino Motors Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. managing director, Mr Ikuo Shibano, Sendayang was chosen as the site dut to the favourable geological factors, proximity to KLIA and nearby sea ports and support from the Negeri Sembilan State Government.
“The Sendayan plant certainly reflects the importance of the Malaysian market as the third pillar of Hino’s operations in Southeast Asia. It will create about 300 jobs and feature world-class manufacturing processes with a special emphasis on safetyâ€, Mr. Ikuo Shibano added.
When the Sendayan plant becomes operational by Q1, 2014, the arrangement with Assembly Services Sdn. Bhd. the appointed assembler of HINO products in Malaysia since 1984, will come to an end.
Since 2010, HINO has been the market leader in the overall commercial vehicle segment (4,500 kg and above) in Malaysia. In 2012, it sold a total of 6,433 units for a 34.6 per cent share of the market. HINO also received further industry recognition when it swept three of the six awards in the inaugural New Straits Times-Shell Rimula ‘Truck of the Year 2012’ Awards.
Hino’s main competitive edge has been its ability to offer a complete range of commercial vehicles ranging from four-wheel light commercial vehicles (LCV), medium-light (MCV), prime movers to buses that are renowned for their quality, durability and reliability. For each model, Hino is also able to offer different chassis variants to suit different purposes.
HINO products are also some of the most technologically advanced in the Malaysian market. It is the first commercial vehicle brand to offer an automatic transmission and crew cabin option for its six-wheel LCV; Euro 3 engines for tis award-winning HINO 300 Series LCV and Euro 2 for HINO 500 Series MCV respectively; and Euro 3 engines for its HINO 700 Series heavy commercial vehicles (HCV). The company was also the first to equip its HINO SH Series prime movers with a driver’s airbag as a safety feature.
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