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“Why are there so few models of “”commercial vans”” represented by the Hiace? Why only Toyota, Nissan, and Daihatsu manufacture them?

What is the Current Situation Surrounding Commercial Vans?
　There is a wide variety of passenger cars available in Japan, with domestic models alone numbering around 150.

　However, there are only a few commercial vans, and excluding OEMs, Toyota offers only the Hiace and Probox, Nissan offers the Caravan, NV200 Vanette, and AD (orders will be temporarily suspended at the end of August 2022), and Daihatsu offers the Granmax Cargo.

“”Hiace”” with a “”Gila face””? Or the ultra-luxurious “”Caravan””? A look at premium popular vans.

Toyota’s “”Hiace”” boasts overwhelming popularity among commercial vans.

　OEMs supplying other companies are also limited to a small number of small/ordinary commercial vans.

　Daihatsu supplies the Granmax Cargo to Toyota as the “”Town Ace Van. Mazda offers the Bongo Brawny Van (based on the Hiace), Bongo Van (Grand Max Cargo), and Familia Van (Probox) manufactured by Toyota and Daihatsu, but other companies do not offer light/regular commercial vans.

　At this time, Honda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Suzuki do not offer light/medium commercial vans.

　On the other hand, light commercial vans are available in a wide variety of models. Suzuki has developed and produced the Every and Spacia-based models, while Daihatsu has developed and produced the Hyzet Cargo and the Atley, and OEMs have also developed their own.

　Suzuki’s Every is supplied to three manufacturers as Nissan’s NV100 Clipper, Mazda’s Scrum Van, and Mitsubishi’s Minicab Van, meaning that of the eight domestic manufacturers that handle passenger cars, four sell the same vehicle if Suzuki, the supplier, is included.

　Daihatsu’s Hyzet Cargo is also supplied to three manufacturers as Toyota’s “”Pyxis Van”” and Subaru’s “”Sambar Van,”” and Honda, which has no OEM relationship, develops and produces the “”N-VAN”” on its own.

　Returning to light/regular commercial vans, the number of models, including OEM vehicles, is currently small.

　The Hiace is by far the best-selling model, followed by the Caravan. However, the sales gap is large, and although the number of registered Caravans has increased compared to the past, it is still less than half that of the Hiace.

　And Daihatsu Granmax Cargo & Toyota Town Ace vans are produced by Astra Daihatsu Motor in Indonesia. Due to the impact of being imported vehicles, even before the issue of the new coronavirus arose, delivery dates were significantly delayed depending on the timing of the contract.

　Commercial vehicles are often required to be delivered in a short period of time due to corporate activities, and some dealers say that the Town Ace is difficult to sell because of its unstable delivery schedule.

　In addition, vans with wagon-like bodies, such as the Probox and AD, are also experiencing lower sales. In this situation, the market for small/standard commercial vans has essentially become a market for the Hiace and Caravan, with no other vehicle types able to enter the market.

Why are there so few models of “”commercial vans”” represented by the Hiace? Why only Toyota, Nissan, and Daihatsu manufacture them?

Two Reasons for the Low Number of Commercial Van Models
　There are two reasons behind the dearth of commercial van models. First, commercial vans, including small/ordinary vehicles, are thin-margin products.

　Because of the overwhelmingly long mileage of commercial vans, which carry cargo, dealers say that it is not unusual for a Hiace to run 300,000 to 400,000 km, requiring durability that cannot be compared to passenger cars.

　Although the price is a little higher for this reason, there is not much profit to be gained by manufacturers and dealers.

　For this reason, Mazda and Mitsubishi used to develop and produce light/regular commercial vans on their own, but Mazda began to introduce OEMs and Mitsubishi has stopped handling them.

　The second reason why the market for small/regular commercial vans became the market for the Hiace and Caravan was the improvement of the light commercial van product line.

　The 1998 changes to the light vehicle standards brought the body size to its current size and increased the load capacity.

　For example, the cargo length, width, and height of the HiZet Cargo Deluxe are 1915 mm, 1270 mm, and 1250 mm, respectively, while the Granmax Cargo GL, a small commercial van, measures 2045 mm x 1495 mm x 1305 mm.

　Although the Granmax Cargo is wider, the difference is only 130 mm in terms of cargo length, so many users consider the light commercial van, the HiZet Cargo, to be sufficient.

　Moreover, it is not unusual for a single corporation to own several vehicles for business use. In such cases, the low maintenance cost of a light commercial van is also a big advantage.

　If only one vehicle is owned, the economic burden of a light/regular commercial van is small, but if three or more vehicles are owned, the difference can be significant. A light commercial van with a small body is also advantageous when parking in a warehouse.

　However, light commercial vans are more profitable than small/ordinary commercial vans. As a result, OEM vehicles have become popular, as mentioned above.

　The total of the four sister vehicles, Every + NV100 Clipper + Scrum Van + Minicab Van, will reach an average of approximately 8,000 units reported per month from January to August 2022. The Hyzet Cargo + Atley + Sambar Van + Pixis Van are also approximately 8,200 units.

　Since the Suzuki Spacia, the second largest selling minicar, is approximately 7,900 units, the Every and Hyzet Cargo boast an overwhelming scale when it comes to the total number of vehicles produced, including OEM vehicles.

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　The number of models of small/ordinary commercial vans and light commercial vans is also much smaller, because it is a tough world of thin profit margins.

　To put it another way, we have a lineup of products that are extremely affordable for users and firmly support Japan’s logistics industry.

　They are essential and reliable vehicles for a small number of elite customers.”