Hino delivered it’s first truck in New Zealand to a Rotorua logging company in 1964, and now fifty years later Wanganui-based Dave Hoskin Carriers have taken delivery of the 15,000th unit.
“Acknowledging Hino customers and industry partners has been an important part of our 50 years’ celebrations throughout 2014,” says Hino general manager Ray Roberts. “I’m pleased Dave Hoskin Carriers are the recipients of our 15,000th unit. Truck owners are typically brand loyal, Hoskin’s new FY3248 is just one of eleven Hinos they now own.”
The first Hino into the Dave Hoskin Carriers fleet was a 1983 FF173, used as a furniture truck, with more arriving in the later part of the 1980’s. “We’ve always purchased Hinos, their trucks consistently perform well and can be used in a number of applications,” says operations manager Darrell Hoskin. “They’re ideal fleet trucks, suitable to numerous drivers, and providing everything you want without going over the top. They are good value for money.”
Hoskin Carriers’ long relationship with Hino was further evident in the presence of a SS330KA in their yard when Roberts presented the new truck’s keys to Darrell and Dave Hoskin earlier this month. First registered in 1994, the SS 340hp truck is still going strong, having clocked more than 1,773,000kms during its twenty years of service.
Built for driving performance and durability, the new FY3248 ProShift 16 Air meets Euro 5 standards by optimising fuel efficiency and lowering exhaust emissions through auto-shift transmissions and a combination of SCR and EGR emission 
control technology.
“I was fortunate to visit Hino Motors in Japan in November,” says Hoskins. “We were the first in New Zealand to buy the Euro 5 FS model last year. Adding another Euro 5 700 series, of different configuration, was an easy decision.” The truck will be used for a daily run between Wanganui, Palmerston North and Horowhenua, carrying stock feed and skins.
“2014 has been fantastic for the brand,” says Roberts. “We set out at the beginning of the year with some very clear objectives: to celebrate 50 years of Hino in New Zealand, to get out and thank our customers in person, and to increase our market share.” Year to date new trucks sales have seen a steady increase across the board.
Hino says it has enjoyed a 34% rise in registrations and a 14% share of the market.
While introducing its Euro 5 series to the country, Hino NZ have travelled the country in a specially marked SH 700, taking its celebrations to locations throughout New Zealand. It has also been running competitions, including one inviting the public to guess what the anniversary truck’s odometer will be by the end of October.
“It’s rewarding to share Hino’s history with the transport industry, and to strengthen our relationships with those who have been a part of our story,” says Roberts. “Customers such as Dave Hoskin Carriers have been a significant factor to our success. 15,000 units and fifty years is just the beginning.”
