Toyota offshoot could fill potential truck gap for local manufacturers

07/30/2009

Nappanee dealership carries Hino medium-duty models because GM is no longer producing them.

NAPPANEE -

Just an announcement from General Motors that it would stop building medium-duty trucks had enough impact to cause McCormick Motors to immediately lay off four employees.

The Nappanee dealership counted 60 percent of its business on sales of the medium-duty truck, used by local manufacturers as platforms for Class C recreational vehicles and shuttle buses.  With no other vehicle available that RV and bus makers like as well, not having this type of truck could inflict more pain on a county that is already hurting.

Therefore, when Moore gathered Hino Truck representatives and area manufacturers around the Hino medium-duty truck and began pointing out the modifications and re-engineering that would have to be done to meet the needs of the RV and bus market, he was blunt about the consequences of failing to make the changes.

"If they don't get a replacement," Moore said of the manufacturers, "they're going to have to idle people. It's a bigger deal than just us."

McCormick Motors had an open house Wednesday to announce it's newest franchise of Hino Trucks, a Toyota Group company, and to show off the medium-duty product to bus builders and recreational vehicle makers.  This is the first time since the dealership was founded in 1953 that is has carried any other cars or trucks besides General Motors' brands.

The Nappanee dealership is the first franchise Hino has added since General Motors went public with its decision to stop manufacturing its popular trucks. McCormick was attractive because it provided an entrance into markets - particularly the shuttle bus industry - which Hino does not now serve, said Glenn Ellis, vice president of marketing and dealer operations for Hino.

Each year, Elkhart County companies buy 2,500 to 3,000 of the GM medium-duty trucks, Moore said.  Between 1,500 and 2,000 of those trucks pass through McCormick Motors.

Losing the product was a "huge blow," Moore said.

Ellis is confident Hino will be able to modify the truck to manufacturers' requirements and will have a vehicle ready for the market in about six months.

Matt Pollard, engineer at Mor/Ryde International in Elkhart, said Hino has a challenge to develop a truck that will be successful in serving the local industries.  Each manufacturer tends to want different alterations to fit the unique designs of its products.

With a lot of GM medium-duty trucks rolling through its shop, the decision to cease production also hurt Mor/Ryde, Pollard said, although he noted he was not surprised by the move.

"I'm not sad to see it go," Pollard said, "because I believe competition makes things better."