Toyota’s Hino Motors truck subsidiary pleads guilty to emissions fraud: NPR

Hino Motors, a subsidiary of Toyota that makes commercial trucks, has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of a multiyear criminal conspiracy to fraudulently evade state and federal emissions standards. This is part of a comprehensive settlement that also resolves civil lawsuits brought by federal regulators and the state of California.

The company has paid a total of $1.6 billion in fines and fines, including the second-largest fine ever imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency for vehicle-based Clean Air Act violations.

The fraud involved more than 100,000 heavy-duty diesel trucks and off-road diesel engines, according to a complaint filed by regulators. These vehicles did not meet state and federal emissions standards, but Hino submitted false data claiming they did.

While the vehicles are still safe to use, Hino will offer free voluntary repairs on some vehicles, and California regulators say there will be no impact on fuel efficiency or vehicle operation. We do not purchase any vehicles.

As part of the settlement, Hino will also pay criminal fines and civil costs, pay more than $150 million to replace engines on ships and trains with cleaner versions, and install hybrid and zero-emission buses and trucks in California. We plan to provide funding for this. These remedies are intended to offset excess pollution caused by the company’s avoidance of emissions standards. The company has a five-year probation period during which it cannot import diesel engines into the United States.

This is the latest in a series of crackdowns on companies that evade emissions tests, including a settlement with engine maker Cummins and the infamous Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal.

There are several ways companies can cheat on tests. In this case, Hino was supposed to submit the product to a series of tests and send the results to regulatory authorities for approval. However, regulators say that instead of submitting actual test results, the company received falsified data, data that came from improperly conducted tests, or data that was completely fabricated without any testing at all. , it was discovered that he had repeatedly submitted false data.

Regulators at the California Air Resources Board said they “discovered discrepancies” in Hino’s data and worked with the EPA to uncover more violations.

“EPA and American consumers rely on true and accurate data from engine manufacturers to protect our nation’s air quality,” EPA Acting Administrator Jane Nishida said in a statement. “Hino’s actions directly undermined EPA’s programs to protect the public from air pollution.”

California was considering Hino’s data because it is the only U.S. state to adopt and enforce stricter emissions standards than the federal government. The state is a large automobile market, and its regulations have a significant impact on the automobile industry.

President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he intends to scale back at least some of California’s regulatory agencies. California is poised to defend its rule-making rights amid a repeat of the legal battles that lasted during the first Trump administration.

Hino Motors President and CEO Satoshi Ogiso said the agreement with regulators was an “important milestone.” “We deeply apologize for the great inconvenience caused to our customers and stakeholders,” he said in a statement. “To prevent this type of issue from happening again, we have implemented company-wide reforms that include meaningful improvements to our internal culture, oversight, and compliance practices.”

Toyota and other automakers have been caught submitting false data to regulators in Japan in recent years, and Toyota has apologized for the scandal. A year ago, Toyota said “misconduct” and some of its subsidiaries were “shaking the very foundations of the company as an automaker.”