Commercial vehicle manufacturers have traditionally competed on vehicle performance, reliability and aftersales support. However, the formation of ARCHION – the Hino-Fuso merger – is beginning to demonstrate how collaboration can create value beyond individual fleets. Its latest initiative combines connected vehicle data from the two OEMs to support smarter logistics, better infrastructure planning and improved societal mobility through what is believed to be the first cross-manufacturer data analytics service of its kind in Japan’s commercial vehicle industry.
The service, which will be provided by Hino Computer System Co. (HCS), is designed to help address logistics, transport infrastructure and urban planning challenges by combining data from approximately 500 000 connected commercial vehicles.
The initiative represents another tangible synergy within the ARCHION Group’s CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric) strategy and marks the first time connected vehicle data from two commercial vehicle manufacturers will provide data for wider societal and industrial applications in Japan.
Enhancing the Logita platform
Under the new service, HCS will incorporate Mitsubishi Fuso connected vehicle data into its Logita logistics big data platform, which has until now primarily utilised data from Hino’s medium and heavy-duty truck fleet.
The addition of Mitsubishi Fuso’s connected urban vehicle data broadens the platform’s analytical capabilities, improving both the coverage and quality of transport insights.
The expanded dataset enables more comprehensive analysis of traffic volumes, vehicle movement patterns and road usage conditions, with insights tailored to the needs of customers in both the public and private sectors.
Supporting logistics and infrastructure planning
The analytics platform is intended to support local governments, public agencies and private companies in a wide range of applications, including road infrastructure maintenance, transportation policy planning, disaster prevention and mitigation, hydrogen refueling station location analysis and carbon neutrality initiatives.
Examples include the early detection of vehicle immobilisation during heavy snowfall, evaluating evacuation and alternative routes during natural disasters and enabling more proactive road maintenance planning.
Because the platform captures data at intervals of up to one second, it can provide highly detailed analysis of traffic patterns and road infrastructure conditions that were previously difficult to identify.
Expanding visibility across the transport network
Historically, Logita has focused largely on Hino’s medium and heavy-duty truck fleet operating on expressways and major arterial roads. The addition of Mitsubishi Fuso’s vehicle data, including its light-duty truck fleet, extends visibility across regional roads and urban delivery networks, providing a more complete understanding of freight movements from long-haul transport through to route-based and last-mile delivery operations.
This broader dataset enables year-round, 24-hour analysis of logistics activity across a wider range of road networks, generating new insights into traffic flows and road conditions that were previously beyond the platform’s reach.
Privacy and governance
ARCHION says all vehicle data used by the platform is anonymised and aggregated before analysis and managed under strict data governance policies to protect vehicle operator privacy.
By combining the strengths of Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso, the company says it aims to make previously unseen logistics flows visible while contributing to more efficient transport systems, improved infrastructure planning and the continued advancement of social infrastructure.
Editor’s comment: The significance of ARCHION’s announcement extends beyond technology. It demonstrates how connected commercial vehicles can become mobile sensors, generating real-time intelligence that benefits not only fleet operators but also road authorities, infrastructure planners and society as a whole. As countries grapple with ageing infrastructure and growing freight demand, data partnerships such as this may become as strategically important as the trucks themselves.
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