Truckin’ Snapshot: Mitsubishi Fuso
In 1932, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Kobe, Japan made its first bus, the “B46 type shared car”.
To commemorate the first delivery of the B46 to the Ministry of Railways, an employee competition took place to create a brand name for the vehicle.
The B46 type shared car - Mitsubishi’s first bus
“Fuso”, suggested by an engineer, was selected. The engineer won three yen in prize money - the equivalent of nearly 20kg of rice at the time.
The term, “Fuso”, is a Japanese pronunciation of the word, “Fusang”, which is found in early Japanese texts - written in Chinese characters as an ancient name for Japan.
According to tradition, Fusang also refers to a sacred tree of external life. ”Fuso” is now used as a name for the hibiscus flower variety.
Mitsubishi continued to use FUSO for other major products such as the KT1 4-ton truck, manufactured in 1946.
To meet the demand of Japan’s rapid economic growth in the 1950s-70s, Mitsubishi soon developed a full range of small to large trucks and buses.
Yusang: the tree of eternal life
KT1 4-ton truck
In 2003, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation separated its commercial vehicle division from its passenger car business. MFTBC, the manufacturer of the FUSO branded commercial vehicles, became a part of Daimler Chrysler’s commercial vehicles division in 2004.
