J-Bus
J-Bus is a Japanese manufacturer of buses and coaches established in 2002 as a joint venture between Isuzu and Hino. The venture was formed by merging the previous bus and coach operations of both manufacturers and started operations in 2004.
History
In January 2002, Hino and Isuzu said they had agreed to merge their bus/coach development and manufactuting operations. These were the subsidiaries Hino Auto Body Industries Co., Ltd. from Hino and Isuzu Bus Manufacturing Co., Ltd. from Isuzu. In October 2002, the J-Bus joint venture was established, and the companies started the business integration process. The integration was completed in 2004.In 2017, J-Bus announced the first articulated bus developed in Japan. Isuzu engineers were in charge of the body and chassis and Hino's of the engine and hybrid system. The bus was introduced by 2020. By 2018, J-Bus' Komatsu plant started to assemble the fuel cell bus Toyota Sora for Toyota. In February 2022, Hino and Isuzu said they planned to start assembling large electric transit buses at J-Bus by 2024.
Facilities
J-Bus has two assembly plants: Komatsu and Utsunomiya.The Komatsu plant mostly produces coaches and houses the venture headquarters. It has administrative, engineering, design, and production facilities. The plant complex buildings cover. The Utsunomiya plant produces transit buses and covers.