Toyota Group Tarnished, Hino Motors Charged With Faking Emission Data And Agreeing To Pay A Fine Of 1.6 Billion US Dollars

In October 2023, Hino Motors announced "Hino's Strategy Towards Carbon Neutrality". (Doc. Hino Motors)

JAKARTA - The Japanese truck manufacturer, Hino Motors, which is a subsidiary of Toyota, has agreed to pay a fine of US$1.6 billion (equivalent to Rp26.2 trillion) to the United States (US) authorities to resolve allegations of exhaust emission fraud.

This resolution is an important milestone towards solving an old problem that we have confirmed with hard work is no longer part of Hino's operations or culture. We apologize profusely for the inconvenience that has happened to us customers and stakeholders. To prevent a repeat of problems like this, we have implemented reforms across the company, including meaningful improvements to our internal culture, supervision and compliance," said Hino Motors President and CEO Ltd Satoshi Ogiso, in a company release, today, February 16.

Meanwhile, based on the deal, cited from Reuters on Thursday, January 16, Hino Motors will pleaded guilty to the charge of marketing more than 105.000 heavy-duty truck diesel engines that do not meet emission standards in the US. This violation occurred during the period 2010 to 2022.

The fines were divided into several parts, namely criminal fines of US$521.76 million, civil fines of US$442.5 million to US authorities, and US$236.5 million to the state of California.

Hino Motors' violations are not limited to marketing diesel engines that do not meet emission standards. Based on the company's internal investigation report, Hino Motors is suspected of having falsified emission data since 2003.

In addition to fines, Hino Motors will also undergo a 5-year probation. During the trial period, Hino Motors was prohibited from importing their diesel engines to the United States.

The state of California, which has been harmed by air pollution from the non-standard Hino Motors diesel engine, has also taken firm action. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that Hino Motors had abused California's incentive program aimed at accelerating the use of clean transport technology.

As a form of accountability, Hino Motors has allocated 230 billion yen (equivalent to 1.54 billion US dollars) to cover the cost of resolving the case.

The case of emission fraud by Hino Motors reminds us again of a similar case that Volkswagen has committed in 2015. The German automaker has to pay a fine of more than US$20 billion due to a exhaust emissions fraud scandal involving millions of cars around the world.