Hino Trucks, Novi, Michigan, has announced Shigehiro Matsuoka was appointed president and chief executive officer of Hino North America, effective Feb. 1. Matsuoka succeeds Yoshinori Noguchi, who will step down after a record-breaking tenure as president and CEO, Hino says in a press release. Noguchi will remain fully engaged as an executive adviser through March to ensure a smooth transition.
Under Noguchi’s leadership for the past six years, Hino says it has had six consecutive record years of truck and parts sales, grown its dealer base by nearly 20 percent, launched its Connected Vehicle Strategy and Certified Ultimate dealer program, built a state of the art corporate office in Novi, and purchased a new manufacturing facility in Mineral Wells, West Virginia. “On behalf of the entire dealer network, we would like to thank Mr. Noguchi for his leadership and action over the past six years,” says Tim Matheny, the president of Matheny Motors, Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Chairman of Hino Trucks’ National Dealer Advisory Council. “Through his efforts, Hino has grown to become the most valued franchise in the industry and is now poised for even greater growth with its expanded product offering and dealer base,” adds Matheny.
Matsuoka joined Hino in 1981 and has held various overseas assignments in his 38 years. Most recently, he was responsible for total support strategy and technical solutions, after-sales service, parts operations, and global production and parts logistics divisions for Hino Motors Limited.
“This is an important time of transformation for Hino as we expand into the Class 8 market, advance our connected vehicle strategy, elevate customer ownership experience and build on Hino’s presence in the U.S. market,” Matsuoka says. “I am honored to have this opportunity to lead the Hino Trucks team and further strengthen our commitment to continuous improvement and widen our range of product offerings.”
An initial focus for Matsuoka is the launch execution of the new Class 7 and 8 A09 powered Hino XL7 and XL8 series trucks – first introduced in Spring 2018 – nearly ready to enter mass production at Hino Trucks’ newly acquired 1 million-square-foot facility in Mineral Wells. “We are looking forward to Mr. Matsuoka’s strong leadership in continuing the growth of Hino Trucks, which has been predicated on world-class customer experience,” Matheny says.
Hino Trucks, a Toyota Group Company, manufactures, sells, and services a lineup of Class 4-8 commercial trucks in the U.S. and has a network of over 240 dealers nationwide.
