Hexagon Purus enters long-term partnership with Hino Trucks to produce zero-emission heavy-duty trucks in the United States

Hexagon Purus and Hino Motors Sales USA  have entered into a distribution agreement where Hexagon Purus will manufacture and produce complete battery electric heavy-duty trucks for the US market, distributed exclusively through select qualifying dealers in Hino’s network. The trucks will be based on Hino’s XL 4x2 truck chassis and equipped with Hexagon Purus’ proprietary zero-emission technology.

This agreement is set to deliver up to 10,000 trucks by 2030, valued at approximately USD 2.0 billion, claims Hexagon Purus. Hino will also be responsible for after-sales service during the lifetime of this exclusive distribution agreement, and serial production of these electric heavy-duty trucks will commence in late 2024.

According to Morten Holum, CEO of Hexagon Purus, “This is a strong validation of our technology and the capabilities as a provider of complete zero-emission mobility solutions. With this agreement, we continue to improve the line-of-sight for our 2025 revenue target of NOK 4-5 billion.” Furthermore, Glenn Ellis, President, HINO Trucks (A Toyota Group Company), added ”recent proposals and regulations that address the need for further reductions in emissions in the transportation sector in the US will drive the demand for several zero-emissions classes of commercial vehicles in the many years to come.”

To reach the 1.5°C ambition set by the Paris agreement in 2015, the transportation sector must reduce emissions by 75% until 2050. In the US, the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) have introduced proposals and regulations that address the need for further reductions in emissions in the transportation sector. California, for instance, has introduced the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) regulation, requiring all truck manufacturers and distributors to have an incrementally higher zero-emission vehicle content when selling in California from 2024 onwards. The ACT requires that 5% of all new class 7 and 8 trucks sold in 2024 in California must be zero-emission vehicles, and new additions to fleets of class 7 and 8 trucks operating to and from intermodal seaports and railyards are required to be zero-emission vehicles from 2024.

The ACT regulation also requires 100% of truck manufacturers’ sales in 2040 to come from zero-emission vehicles, putting an effective end to the sale of internal combustion engine trucks in California and incentivizing investments into infrastructure and supply chain. According to CARB, the combined effect from the ACT and the proposed Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) regulations will lead to approximately 0.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2035 in California, increasing to 1.6 million in 2050. With the cooperation between Hexagon Purus and Hino, this target will be further achieved.