WOODSTOCK, Ont. — Hino Motors Canada has launched a new light duty truck into the Canadian market, aimed at trades such as light construction, courier services, landscaping, and service vehicles.

The new Model 198, with it 220 hp, six-cylinder diesel engine, was unveiled last week.

Along with the new 198 Class 5 truck, Hino has updated and upgraded its Class 6 258LP and 268 models, and its Class 7 338 and 358 models.

The company formally introduced its 2011 Canadian models during an open house at its plant in Woodstock, Ont., where there’s capacity to build 2000 trucks a year. It’s presently assembling at the rate of about 1100 annually. The company has a stated goal of 30 percent of the Canadian market share, up from its present 20 percent.

National sales manager Eric Smith says the economy has dealt a particularly tough blow to Class 5-7 trucks sales, but forecasts are looking up. 

The Hino 358

"We’ve already seen signs of a recovery," he said. "The smaller classes are still lagging behind but we do anticipate that we have seen the worst of the recession, and we’re definitely on the upswing now."

He speculated that there was a saturation of product in the marketplace prior to the recession and demand has yet to catch up, but it’s coming.

All five of the 2011 model-year trucks are powered by SCR-equipped engines, the company’s J08E-VC inline diesel six on the three smallest models — the Class 5 198 plus the Class 6 258LP and 268.

It makes 220 hp at 2500 rpm and 520 lb ft of torque at 1500. The little 198 gets Allison’s six-speed 1000RDS transmission as the only choice, while the other two have an Allison option. That pair and the two Class 7 models come standard with Eaton’s six-speed direct-drive FS6406A.

On the two Class 7 trucks in the 2011 Hino lineup, the 338 and 358, power comes from the J08E-VB diesel rated 260 hp at 2500 rpm with 660 lb ft of torque at 1500 rpm. The six-speed Allison 2500 RDS is optional.

Brakes on all but the 35,000-lb GVW model 358 are hydraulic, the big one getting a full air system. The 338 has a GVW of 33,000 lb. Improvements have been made across the board.

On the 358, for example, the engine’s fuel system controller has been taken out of the cab and relocated in the engine bay. In its place in the cab is the vehicle control module to accommodate telematics.

Engineers found they needed to enhance cooling capacity due to SCR, so the radiator is now four inches taller, which accounts for a slightly higher hood. There’s more room under the hood now, which enabled the fuel filter to be relocated there.  

Shin Nakamura, president of Hino Motors Canada,
receives a Daruma doll, from outgoing Woodstock
Mayor Michael Harding. The doll is regarded
as a talisman of good luck to the Japanese.

Newer Hino models have a bolder grill as a result of the raised hood. The power mirrors are heated, and seats now have an armrest. Better yet, they have a longer base cushion to accommodate the longer legs of North American drivers.

We like that one especially, a small but very useful improvement.
The instrument panel has been redesigned with more control functions on it, more information visible to the driver. Trip info and fuel economy are now prominently displayed.

On manual transmission models, Hino now offers an ‘economy running switch’ to gain better fuel economy. Running empty, for example, you can travel faster than when fully loaded. It’s labeled ‘Eco Run’ and it limits acceleration while forcing upshifts at lower rpm.

All 2011 Hino models have a standard engine exhaust brake. The 358 also has a driver-controlled differential lock.

Hino has dominated the Class 5-8 markets in Japan for 37 straight years. Last year the Japanese operation sold 100,000 trucks, 60,000 of them for export.

No small enterprise, it is part of the Toyota Group.