J-Bus is a Japanese manufacturer of

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es and

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

established in 2002 as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between

Isuzu , commonly known as Isuzu (, ), is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines ...

and

Hino Hino may refer to: Places Estonia * Hino, Põlva County * Hino, Võru County ** Lake Hino Japan * Hino, Shiga * Hino, Tokyo * Hino, Tottori ** Hino District, Tottori ** Hino River Transportation * Hino Motors, a Japanese truck manufacturer own ...

. The venture was formed by merging the previous bus and coach operations of both manufacturers and started operations in 2004.

History

In January 2002,

and

said they had agreed to merge their bus/coach development and manufactuting operations. These were the subsidiaries Hino Auto Body Industries Co., Ltd. (a plant in

Komatsu, Ishikawa is a city located in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 108,509 in 42,664 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Komatsu is located in southwe ...

) from Hino and Isuzu Bus Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (

Utsunomiya is the capital and largest city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 513,584, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Utsunomiya is famous for its ''gyoza'' ...

) 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 An articulated bus, also referred to as a slinky bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, is an articulated vehicle, typically a motor bus or trolleybus, used in public transportation. It is usually a ...

developed in Japan. Isuzu engineers were in charge of the body and chassis and Hino's of the engine and

hybrid system A hybrid system is a dynamical system that exhibits both continuous and discrete dynamic behavior – a system that can both ''flow'' (described by a differential equation) and ''jump'' (described by a state machine, automaton, or a differ ...

. The bus was introduced by 2020. By 2018, J-Bus' Komatsu plant started to assemble the

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

bus Toyota Sora for

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

. In February 2022, Hino and Isuzu said they planned to start assembling large

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

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 bus A transit bus (also big bus, commuter bus, city bus, town bus, urban bus, stage bus, public bus, public transit bus, or simply bus) is a type of bus used in public transport bus services. Several configurations are used, including low-floo ...

es and covers .

Products

, J-Bus assembles various coach and transit bus models.

Komatsu plant

* Hino Selega / Isuzu Gala (high deck coach, short and long version) * Hino Melpha / Isuzu Gala Mio (short range coach) *

Hino Poncho The is a low-floor minibus produced by Hino Motors through the J-Bus joint venture. They are used as on demand vehicles by many transport authorities, such as Translink. First generation (2002-2005) The first-generation Poncho was based on ...

(small bus) * Toyota Sora (fuel cell transit bus)

Utsunomiya plant

Isuzu Erga The Isuzu Erga (kana:いすゞ・エルガ) is a heavy-duty single-decker bus produced by Isuzu through the J-Bus joint venture. It is primarily available as a public bus in either a complete bus or a bus chassis. It is built by J-Bus fro ...

Hino Blue Ribbon The Hino Blue Ribbon (kana:日野・ブルーリボン) is a heavy-duty single-decker bus produced by Hino Motors through the J-Bus joint-venture. The range is primarily available as city bus and tourist coach. It is built by J-Bus as either ...

(large size,

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

d and hybrid transit bus) * Isuzu Erga Duo /

(large size, hybrid articulated bus) * Isuzu Erga Mio / Hino Rainbow (medium size transit bus)

References

Bus manufacturers of Japan Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2002 Hino Motors Isuzu {{motorvehicle-company-stub