Hino under a Ford badge? A look back at NZ's local truck manufacturing era and the Carterton plant that made it happen.
Back in the 1980s, New Zealand manufacturing was booming just before the full effects of the government changes (Rogernomics), deregulation, and the subsequent dramatic restructuring of the economy took hold.
Those with long memories will recall that trucks, buses and cars were actually assembled in New Zealand with Todd Motors, Hino Distributors, and Motor Truck Distributors (Mack and International fame), having fully equipped production sites using semi or completely knocked down (CKD) components.
The import duties, up until the economy was restructured in the 1980s, had made wholly assembled trucks very expensive, especially from USA and Canada. Bringing in separate components and setting up an assembly plant was the best way to cater for local specifications and operator’s requirements. There was always some form of customisation going on, even if the truck was brought standard off the line.
One of the sites was Hino Distributors truck assembly plant in Carterton, in the Wairarapa. No doubt some local government incentives, available workforce, cheap land and being close to Wellington Port made it work for over 20 years.
Over 1000 trucks and buses a year were made up in Carterton and it was a real local success for the wider MTD Group and the greater area.
From those humble beginnings, Hino is still one of the most popular makes on the market with fully assembled trucks sourced from Japan direct since the local factory closed.
The Carterton site was pretty busy with a wide range of models including the ‘Claytons’ [Claytons = the drink you have when you’re not having a drink – Ed] -badged Ford.
Sold through most of the main Ford dealers, they were a great addition to their businesses. Some also sold the more expensive Australian-made Ford Louisville but import duties and the truck being so popular in its home country made reliable supply difficult.
Once the U.K-made D-Series Ford models ran out and the Ford Cargo replacement wasn’t popular, Ford didn’t really have a local heavy truck range and needed a cab over (COE) to adequately compete in New Zealand.
Once they came to an arrangement with Hino, they eventually sold hundreds of them through their network across the country. Setting up truck service bays and staff wasn’t easy, but many succeeded and became truck specialists with even some evolving to ironically Southpac Trucks dealers or agents.
The model range mirrored the Hino models (both lightweight and heavies) and had basic cosmetic changes, but anyone looking closely could see Hino stamped everywhere. Options were limited as they were a mass-produced model, but the service and back-up was the key as you could go to Ford or Hino dealers for servicing and parts.
The heavier models proved popular for general and livestock freight. A bulletproof V8 and 15-speed Roadranger was the New Zealand standard spec. Traction and turning circle lock was great and a big comfortable cab with plenty of glass and a radio that actually worked was welcomed by the drivers.
They were not the best for fuel economy but back then diesel was circa 40 cents a litre, and the purchase price half of some of the premium makes.
Competition back then was Isuzu 270hp, Fuso 300, Internationals 350, Volvo 350 etc., so found its mark in many fleets doing all sorts of work.
The initial Hino 4533 was a six-cylinder model with the bigger 16-litre naturally aspirated 5032 V8, then the 5036 Twin Turbo V8 facelift – a top-of-the-range version.
There were also some imports from Australia and Ireland (Hino UK) that featured slightly different specifications, including the Twin Splitter Eaton or 13-speed Roadranger to suit. However, the distinctive badging on the side made model identification easy.
There are not many examples left in New Zealand as rust tended to take hold pretty quickly like most trucks of that era. Surprisingly, many farmers and contractors liked the simplicity of the Hino and many are still working on farms to this day but getting rare to see intact.
Ford exited the truck market all around the world much to many diehard blue-bloods’ disgust, as the US and Australian models had a strong and loyal following. The classic truck shows in Australia celebrate the Louisville (aka loosely built) and the Americans loved their CL9000 COE and the British their unique Transcontinentals.
Ford-badged heavy trucks are still made under license in Turkey for their unique market only, which is a shame.
But Ford New Zealand saw a period of ‘badge engineering’ that was adopted by many car and ute manufacturers since. The hugely successful Ford Ranger and Mazda BT50 being the most recent example.
Carterton can be proud of their contribution to the New Zealand trucking industry.
Images by Rod Simmonds
