Hino Motors, Ltd. (Head office: Hino, Tokyo; President: Satoshi Ogiso) will be participating in the Dakar Rally 2024 to be held in Saudi Arabia from January 5 thru 19, 2024 as HINO TEAM SUGAWARA (Director: Teruhito Sugawara, General Manager: Satoshi Ogiso). In 1991, Hino became the first Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturer to race the rally. In the 2023 event, the team finished 10th overall in the Trucks category and extended its streak of finishes to 32.

　For the 2024 event, which will be held in Saudi Arabia for the fifth time, the team has developed a truck based on the bonnet truck (HINO600 Series) entered in the 2023 race, with improvements to further enhance reliability to keep it performing strong and to aim for higher positions by exhaustively eliminating any risks that may cause lost time. In addition, a new design was adopted using kabuki kumadori as a motif.
　This year we have resumed the process of selecting mechanics from domestic dealerships to join the team in the Dakar Rally, and two mechanics in all were selected from Tochigi Hino Motor and Aichi Hino Motor in an open competition. We are taking on the challenge of the 33rd Dakar Rally with a renewed focus on strengthening our support system and on the growth of mechanics who will lead us into the future.

2024 event route map

Hino truck racing in the 2024 event

■Teruhito Sugawara (team director and driver)
　Despite the extremely difficult circumstances surrounding Hino Motors at the time, we were able to continue our participation in the 2023 event with the support and encouragement of many people. Once again, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone on behalf of the team.
　The 2024 event, which will take us into the deepest parts of the Empty Quarter--often described as the "Desert of Death"--will be more grueling than ever before and face us with dramatically higher degrees of difficulty. Against this backdrop, we invite you to expect great things as we are steadily preparing for the 2024 event working with the development staff at Hino Motors, aiming for a truck that is not only faster but also tougher and stronger than ever to surpass our 2023 results.

■Racing truck specifications