Toyota's truck brand Hino has pleaded guilty to the manipulation of several diesel engine models. The group faces a fine of 11.6 billion.
Hello, Bjorn S. Nielsen
Toyota-owned truck brand Hino Motors has admitted to cheating on diesel emissions data in the US and has been fined 11.6 billion Danish kroner. Only Volkswagen has previously received a higher fine for similar offenses.
Hino Motors has entered into an agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to pay the fine, of which 4 billion kroner must be paid now and here.
The New York Times writes.
The cheating has been going on for over 10 years, with Hino Motors submitting falsified test data to meet emissions requirements for heavy-duty diesel engines, and lying about the engines' fuel consumption.
The EPA relies on manufacturers' own data, as they do not have the resources to test all vehicles. However, when the EPA tested Hino Motors trucks, they uncovered discrepancies between the declared and actual emissions values, particularly for nitrogen oxides.
"Hino Motors falsified emissions reports and failed to perform the required quality control," said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Department of Justice's Environmental Division.
The fraud involves over 110,000 diesel engines, which corresponds to Hino Motors having paid approximately 105,000 kroner per engine to falsify the test values.
"Hino recognizes its responsibility and is committed to fully cooperating with the authorities," said CEO Satoshi Ogiso.
Toyota has previously stated that they are "disappointed by Hino's wrongdoings".
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Hino Motors has now stopped selling heavy-duty diesel trucks in the U.S. It is unclear what consequences the case will have for Hino Motors' future production and sales of diesel passenger vehicles.
The case of the manipulated trucks is just the latest in a series of lawsuits for Toyota. The Japanese are now trying to hide some of the flop that their first electric car, the bZ4x, has been with a new name.
The Danish importer also announced this week that the price will be reduced to 299,990 kroner for the base model. It is not clear whether these are stock models. But Toyota will only sell the bZ4x at that price in Denmark until March 31, 2025.
