Commercial vehicle giants Traton Group and Hino Motors have signed a joint venture agreement for the development of electric vehicles.
The two companies will collaborate to build battery electric vehicles (BEVs), fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs), and relevant components as well as creating common EV platforms including software and interfaces.
They will form a team of advanced specialists from both companies and launch activities in Södertälje, Sweden, and in a second step in Tokyo, Japan.
The aim of the partnership is to shorten lead times for future e-mobility products with battery and fuel cell technology with the two companies “convinced that both technologies will be needed in the future”, they say.
Hino Motors president and chief executive Yoshio Shimo says he is “delighted” with the joint venture which will help tackle the challenges of CO2 emissions and global warming.
“We will combine our strengths as leading commercial vehicle manufacturers to offer EVs with the highest value for customers, through joint planning of commercial EVs.”
Traton chief executive Matthias Gründler says his company is committed to investing one billion euros into electrification over the next five years.
He says the partnership with Hino is “the next important step in electrification, pushing our mission further ahead”.
Traton is a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group and one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturers with brands such as MAN and Scania.
The agreement between the two companies dates back to 2018 when plans were first made for a strategic long-term partnership.
Both companies have agreed to explore each other’s capabilities and investigate further possibilities to collaborate in other future fields of technology.
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