According to media reports, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on March 19 that Hino Motors, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, has pleaded guilty to years of emissions fraud in the U.S. and must pay a $1.6 billion fine.
Judge Mark Goldsmith of the U.S. District Court in Detroit accepted Hino Motors' guilty plea and sentenced the company to a $521.76 million fine. Additionally, Hino is banned from exporting its diesel engines to the U.S. for five years. The court also ordered the forfeiture of $1.087 billion in company assets.
Earlier, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated that the settlement includes a $155 million emissions reduction program aimed at offsetting excess air pollutants from the fraudulent emissions through the replacement of marine and locomotive engines. It also includes a $144.2 million recall program to fix the engines of heavy-duty trucks from model years 2017 to 2019.
Jeffrey Hall, Acting Director of Enforcement at the EPA, commented, "Companies that deliberately evade U.S. environmental laws, including those that fabricate data to appear compliant, deserve to be punished and will be held criminally accountable."
Toyota declined to comment on the report, and Hino did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In January of this year, Hino Motors stated that it would plead guilty to excessive engine emissions in over 105,000 vehicles sold in the U.S. between 2010 and 2022. The company admitted that between 2010 and 2019, it took "improper shortcuts," submitted falsified engine certification applications, manipulated emissions testing data, conducted improper tests, and even fabricated data without performing any actual foundational tests.
A company-commissioned investigative panel reported in 2022 that Hino had been falsifying emissions data for certain engines as early as 2003.
Hino Motors President Satoshi Ogiso stated that the company has since improved its internal culture, oversight, and compliance measures. In January, Hino also announced that it had recorded a special loss of 230 billion yen (approximately $1.54 billion) in its second-quarter financial report last year to cover anticipated legal costs.
Hino is not the only automaker involved in emissions scandals. Over the past decade, multiple car manufacturers have admitted to selling diesel vehicles with excessive emissions. In 2015, Volkswagen confessed to installing "defeat devices" and software in nearly 11 million vehicles worldwide to cheat emissions tests. Volkswagen subsequently paid over $20 billion in fines, penalties, and settlements.
