J-Bus

J-Bus is a Japanese manufacturer of buses and coaches established in 2002 as a joint venture between Isuzu and Hino. The venture was formed by merging the previous bus and coach operations of both manufacturers and started operations in 2004.

J-Bus Ltd.

Native name	ジェイ・バス株式会社
Romanized name	Jei-basu Kabushiki-gaisha
Company type	Joint venture
Industry	Automotive
Predecessors	Hino Auto Body Industries Co., Ltd. Isuzu Bus Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Founded	1 October 2002; 22 years ago (2002-10-01)
Headquarters	Komatsu, Ishikawa , Japan
Key people	Tetsuro Ishikawa (President)
Products	Buses, coaches, parts
Revenue	¥32,489 million (FY2021)
Operating income	-¥530 million (FY2021)
Net income	-¥104 million (FY2021)
Total assets	¥23,948 million (FY2021)
Total equity	¥10,632 million (FY2021)
Owners	Hino (50%) Isuzu (50%)
Number of employees	1,541 (March 2022)
Website	www.jbus.co.jp
Footnotes / references Fiscal Year 2021 (FY2021) is from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. References:[1][2]

History

In January 2002, Hino and Isuzu said they had agreed to merge their bus/coach development and manufactuting operations.^[3] These were the subsidiaries Hino Auto Body Industries Co., Ltd. (a plant in Komatsu, Ishikawa) from Hino and Isuzu Bus Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Utsunomiya) from Isuzu.^[4] In October 2002, the J-Bus joint venture was established, and the companies started the business integration process.^[3] The integration was completed in 2004.^[4]

In 2017, J-Bus announced the first articulated bus developed in Japan.^[5] Isuzu engineers were in charge of the body and chassis and Hino's of the engine and hybrid system. The bus was introduced by 2020.^[6] By 2018, J-Bus' Komatsu plant started to assemble the fuel cell bus Toyota Sora for Toyota.^[7] In February 2022, Hino and Isuzu said they planned to start assembling large electric transit buses at J-Bus by 2024.^[8]

Facilities

Utsunomiya 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 72,379 m² (779,080 sq ft). The Utsunomiya plant produces transit buses and covers 49,879 m² (536,890 sq ft).^[9]

Products

As of June 2023^[update], J-Bus assembles various coach and transit bus models.^[10][11]

Komatsu plant

• Hino Selega / Isuzu Gala (high deck coach, short and long version)
• Hino Melpha / Isuzu Gala Mio (short range coach)
• Hino Poncho (small bus)
• Toyota Sora (fuel cell transit bus)

Utsunomiya plant

• Isuzu Erga / Hino Blue Ribbon (large size, internal combustion engined and hybrid transit bus)
• Isuzu Erga Duo / Hino Blue Ribbon (large size, hybrid articulated bus)
• Isuzu Erga Mio / Hino Rainbow (medium size transit bus)