Daimler Truck, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), Hino Motors and Toyota Motor Corporation have announced a delay in their intent to merge MFTBC and Hino.

Toyota owns Hino, while Daimler Truck owns MFTBC.

While the definitive agreement for merging MFTBC and Hino was targeted to be signed by the end of March, with integration to be complete by the end of the year, the process of obtaining the necessary regulatory clearances and approvals under competition and other laws and regulations, as well as the pending investigations related to Hino’s engine certification issues, remain ongoing.

As such, the original schedule has been extended, say the vehicle manufacturers.

“The timing of the envisaged execution of the definitive agreement and the implementation of the business integration will be announced as soon as a reliable timeline for the pending investigations is available.

“Once all parties involved reach an agreement, they will move forward based on the approval of the relevant boards of directors, shareholders and authorities.”

Daimler Truck, Toyota, MFTBC and Hino concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in May last year on accelerating the development of advanced technologies and merging MFTBC and Hino.

The planned collaboration is aimed at achieving carbon neutrality by developing connected, autonomous, automated, shared and electric technologies, and “strengthening the commercial vehicle business on a global scale”.

According to the MoU, MFTBC and Hino aim to merge on an equal footing and collaborate in the areas of commercial vehicle development, procurement and production.

The plan is to build a globally competitive Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturer, with Daimler Truck and Toyota investing equally in the listed holding company of the merged MFTBC and Hino entity.

The parties have confirmed that the merger discussions are progressing in a positive frame and that the strategic objectives and logic of the proposed transaction continue to be valid.