ARCHION Group companies Hino Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation will cooperate in a Japanese government program aimed at accelerating the use of Level 4 autonomous trucks for freight transport on expressways. The two commercial vehicle manufacturers will support Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s Autonomous Truck Implementation Support Project, which is focused on the early social implementation of freight movement using Level 4 autonomous trucks on highways. Under the program, Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso will participate as heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers supporting the safety foundation needed for autonomous truck deployment. Both companies will cooperate with the Expressway Autonomous Truck Transport Operations Council, while Hino will also cooperate with the L4 Logistics Autonomous Driving Trailer Promotion Council and the Toyota Tsusho Consortium. The announcement builds on previous autonomous truck work by Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso. From fiscal year 2021 through fiscal year 2025, both companies participated in Theme 3 of the Road to the L4 project, an initiative promoted by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The project focused on the practical application of high-performance trucks on expressways and the broader social implementation of Level 4 autonomous trucks. The companies also supported a separate 2025 effort under Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry related to the development of digital lifelines, including autonomous driving service support roads. As part of that work, Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso helped develop a business proposal for trunk-route joint transport using autonomous-driving tractors. According to ARCHION, the work will be part of a broader effort to combine the commercial vehicle development, production and sales foundations of Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso following their management integration. The group said it intends to advance joint development across connected, autonomous, shared and electric vehicle technologies, including