Success for Hino, despite adversity

Hino South Africa – one of the largest players within the country’s fiercely competitive medium commercial vehicle (MCV) segment – achieved an amazing recovery from the 41-day shutdown of its Prospecton plant outside Durban, following last year’s catastrophic floods.

Posting a 2022 sales figure of 3 333 trucks, Hino SA increased its 2021 figure by 9.4% and only came 417 units short of the year’s original retail sales target of 3 750 units. All things considered, this represented an astonishing recovery after the shutdown of the Prospecton plant, which lasted almost one-and-a-half months following the catastrophic flooding on 11 and 12 April 2022.

The total of 3 333 Hino truck sales for the year in South Africa included 606 Hino 200 Series models – previously marketed as the Toyota Dyna – in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment. In the MCV segment, Hino 300 Series sales amounted to 1 512 units (up from 1 421 in 2021). Hino heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs) also showed increased volume, with 995 units sold in 2022, compared to 744 units in 2021. However, sales in the extra-heavy category, at 213 units, were below the 338 trucks sold in 2021, as the company awaits the arrival of the new generation Hino 700 Series.

The extensive flooding and subsequent clean up took a heavy toll on one of SA’s leading truck manufacturers, as 78 built-up trucks or completely knocked down (CKD) kits of components were declared unsalvageable and had to be scrapped and destroyed, meaning that none of these vehicles or the affected components reached the market.

Hino lost approximately 550 vehicles out of scheduled production before production restarted on 23 May. About 100 assembly line workers went home for the first week following the floods, before returning to the plant in batches in the ensuing weeks to assist in the comprehensive flood recovery programme.

The original production plan for 2022 required 4 105 trucks to be assembled during the year, but this was revised down to 4 085 units. Actual production came within 124 units of meeting this target – an excellent achievement considering the extent of the damage, in what was arguably the biggest natural disaster in global motor industry history. The justification for this claim is that the extensive flooding affected all aspects of Toyota SA Motors’ operations in Prospecton, which are situated on a single site. In the past, tsunamis, tornadoes, and other natural disasters around the world have only affected certain aspects of a motor company’s operations, as these have not all been located together on one site.

“It was a very tough year for Hino. I am delighted at the manner in which all those concerned, be they team members at the assembly plant or our loyal dealer network, made every effort to lessen the effect of the enforced shutdown. The outcome was that our sales and production results were far better than originally anticipated when we surveyed the extent of the  flood damage,” comments Pieter Klerck, Hino SA general manager. “The cherry on top was our ability to keep up the high customer experience standards that have been a major feature of our success in recent years.”