Fuso Bus JV starts operations 2 November; Foxconn pays $60m for stake

Fuso Bus Company Ltd, the joint venture between Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) and Foxconn's Hon Hai Precision Industry, is scheduled to commence formal operations on 2 November 2026, pending completion of legal formalities between the two shareholders.

The new company is a rename of Mitsubishi Fuso Bus Manufacturing Company Ltd (MFBMC), MFTBC's bus manufacturing subsidiary. It keeps the existing headquarters in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and continues production of the Rosa medium-duty internal combustion engine (ICE) bus.

MFTBC confirmed the venture's remit: development, manufacture, sale and after-sales servicing of both ICE and zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) buses, for domestic Japanese and international markets.

What does Foxconn bring?

Foxconn is reported to have paid over US$60 million for its stake in the bus subsidiary. The Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer has agreed to make its electric vehicle technologies available to the venture, supporting its push into the ZEV bus segment.

First battery-electric (BEV) bus models are scheduled for release in 2027. That's the program's hardest timing commitment so far. Until then, the venture's revenue base stays anchored in the ICE-powered Rosa.

Who runs the joint venture?

Leadership blends both sides of the deal:

• CEO: Katsuto Kora, currently head of MFBMC and chairman of MFTBC
• CFO: Junichi Yamamoto, promoted from senior manager at MFBMC
• Five further non-executive directors appointed from both shareholder companies

The board structure gives each parent representation at governance level, consistent with a 50-50 style joint venture arrangement.

Foxconn's wider Japanese play

The bus stake is one part of a bigger Japanese mobility push. Foxconn has separately agreed to pay JPY 115 billion — about US$728 million — for a 50% stake in Mitsubishi Electric Mobility Corporation, the EV powertrain and chassis systems business spun off from Mitsubishi Electric Corporation.

Combined, the two deals put Foxconn's disclosed commitment in Japan at roughly US$788 million. The Mitsubishi Electric Mobility transaction dwarfs the bus investment more than twelvefold. It signals the company intends to be a Tier 1 supplier (direct OEM-level component maker) in EV driveline hardware, not just a bus investor.

What to watch next

Three dates matter. The 2 November 2026 formal launch, once legal formalities close. The 2027 BEV bus release, the first test of whether Foxconn's technology transfer converts into product. And the Mitsubishi Electric Mobility stake completion, which will clarify Foxconn's position in Japan's EV supply chain. Production volumes for the new BEV models have not been disclosed — capacity plans, when they surface, will show whether this is a serious manufacturing program or a market-entry toehold.