Hino is increasing its focus on the African market according to the executive vice president responsible for Hino’s overseas operation, Koichi Ojima. He was addressing the media at the, Johannesburg International Motor Show at Expo Centre in Johannesburg this week.
“Hino sold a record 154 000 units globally in 2012, of which 42 000 were sold in Japan and the remainder in overseas markets,’ said the Hino senior executive. “Our largest sales volume comes from South-East Asian markets, but we realise that countries on the African continent are growing in importance for vehicle manufacturers due to the booming economies and rapid GDP growth rate.’
“One of the recent developments by Hino on this continent was the start of local production of our trucks at a plant in Mombasa, Kenya, earlier this year. We are well established in South Africa, having arrived here 41 years ago and are very pleased with the performance of the brand in this important market and Hino is set to continue its investment in South Africa.
“We are very keen to obtain feedback from operators in the various countries in which we have operations and I will be taking advantage of my visit to South Africa to attend this show to listen directly to the voices of South Africa in terms of future business and product development,’ added Koichi Ojima.
The visiting Hino executive went on to tell his audience of his company’s corporate mission statement and how he believed it would benefit transport operators in South Africa.
The mission statement is: To make the world a better place in which to live by helping people and goods get where they need to go – safely, economically and with environmental responsibility – while focusing on sustainable development.
“At the Hino Group, we all share both the challenge and the inspiration of this corporate mission statement It is a simple statement that captures what the world expects from us, but it also expresses the great impact we can have just by doing what we do best. After all, we all want Hino to be known for going the extra mile,’ explained the Hino executive.
The four core polices being used to achieve the Corporate Mission are:
- Earn the world’s trust as the most trusted commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world.
- Continue the succession and innovation of technologies and provide the appropriate products and services for our customers’ business.
- Capture the change accurately, harmonise with the society and target sustainable development.
- Respect our employees’ individuality and create a vibrant corporate culture.
“I consider it important that Hino should be a helpful partner in our customers’ business and we can do that best by listening to their needs and responding to them in the spirit of ‘˜Customer Business First”, concluded the Hino executive vice president.
Visit Hino South Africa Hall: 5
Stand No: 5A02 & 5A07
