Toyota enters construction truck market with Hino XL Series

Toyota Motor Corp., one of the world’s biggest carmakers, has made a foray into the global construction truck market with the launch of the highly applauded Hino XL Series.

The Japanese automaker is hoping to use its exceptional success in the global car market to win the attention of influential construction executives.

“Entering Class 8 [is] arguably something no OEM [original equipment manufacturer] has done successfully in the last 50 years,” says Hino Motors director of marketing Dominik Beckman.

Hino Motors is a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp.

The Class 7 XL7 and Class 8 XL8, which debuted at the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis earlier this month, will be available in wheelbases of up to 304 inches and both will be powered by Hino’s 8.9-litre A09 engine.

The engine, which has been in global production for more than ten years, has a range of 300-360 horsepower and up to 1,150 lb.-ft. of torque.

“Our focus is to provide safe, economical and sustainable transportation to the world,” Hino Motors chairman Yasuhiko Ichihashi said in a statement.

Assembled in Mineral Wells, West Virginia, the XL Series will be presented in several straight truck and tractor formations ranging from a gross vehicle weight rating of 15,000 kilograms to 27,000 kilograms and a gross combined weight rating of up to 30,000 kilograms.

READ: Heavy construction equipment market to hit Sh9.5tn by 2025

According to Beckman, the debut of the new trucks is the fruit of more than 500,000 hours of work that saw a unit drafted and conceptualized from the ground up.

Nevertheless, Hino relied heavily on major trucking component manufacturers. Both the Class 7 and Class 8 truck, for example, come standard with Dana axles and drivelines, Wabco brakes and Hendrickson suspension.

Tractor formations come standard with Wabco stability control platform and the company’s OnGuard Active is offered as an option. Hino Insight, the firm’s telematic platform, will be standard as will LED headlights.

The global truck market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8 per cent by 2022 backed by the development in the construction industry and growing logistics sector.

Some of the key players in the international truck market include Tata Motors, Isuzu Motors, Daimler AG, Hino Motors, Ashok Leyland, AB Volvo, Scania AB, Hyundai Motor Company, and MAN Truck & Bus, among others.

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