Mitsubishi Fuso

The Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, based in Japan, is owned principally by German company Daimler AG. One of the World’s largest truck manufacturers, Mitsubishi Fuso takes its name from the ancient Chinese name for Japan – Fuso, meaning Hibiscus. The first vehicle bearing the Fuso name was the B46 commercial bus, built in 1932 collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Fuso Motor Sales Co. was officially established in 1949, and went on to produce Japan’s first heavy-duty tilt-cab truck in 1959, the T380, and Japan’s first small bus in 1960, the Rosa. The first Fuso Canter appeared in 1963, a light-duty truck model that went on to become the company’s best-selling vehicle of all time. The Australian truck market was an important one for the Canter, and production of the vehicle, utilising many local components, commenced in the 1970s. Over the past decade, Daimler AG has invested increasingly in Fuso, and today owns 85% of the Fuso brand (now known officially as Mitsubishi Fuso). Daimler AG is the world’s leading truck manufacturer, also producing vehicles under several other brands, including Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Maybach and Freightliner. Under the ownership of Daimler AG, Mitsubishi Fuso has become an industry leader in the area of green vehicle technology development. In Japan, the company has released the Canter Eco Hybrid light-duty truck and the Aero Star Eco Hybrid bus in Japan, which received the Energy Conservation Center’s Chairman’s Prize in 2009. Mitsubishi Fuso has also recently opened the Global Hybrid Center of Daimler Trucks in Japan, which has become the worldwide hub for Daimler Trucks’ hybrid vehicle development.