October 20, 2004 9:00 AM, EDT

Hino Begins Assembling Trucks at California Factory

Company Says Medium-Duty Models Will Compete With Freightliner, Navistar

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apanese truck maker Hino Motors Ltd. has began production of six medium-duty truck models at a California factory run by Toyota Motor Corp., news services reported.

Derek Kaufman, senior vice president for Hino's U.S. sales unit, told Bloomberg the trucks would compete with medium-duty models from Freightliner LLC, Navistar International Corp. and General Motors Corp.'s GMC division.

Cabs and engines for the trucks are being imported from Japan, while the steel frames are produced at the factory in Long Beach, Calif. Hino expects to build 2,000 trucks by March and 10,000 trucks per year by 2006, the Associated Press reported.

Hino said it would also build commercial vehicles in Arkansas if it could raise U.S. sales to 30,000 a year, Bloomberg said.

Hino sold 1,741 trucks in the U.S. this year through September, up 22% from a year earlier, according to Automotive News.