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Written by David Shepardson
(Reuters) – Toyota Motor unit Hino Motors has agreed to a $1.6 billion settlement with U.S. agencies and will sue over the excessive production of diesel engines in more than 105,000 U.S. vehicles, the company and the U.S. government said in a statement. Wednesday.
A Japanese truck and engine maker has been charged with fraud in US District Court in Detroit for illegally selling 105,000 diesel engines in the United States from 2010 to 2022 that did not meet emissions standards.
The decision, which still has to be approved by a US judge, includes a criminal penalty of $521.76 million, $442.5 million in civil penalties to US authorities and $236.5 million to California.
A panel commissioned by the company said in a 2022 report that Hino had incorrect data on some engines going back to at least 2003.
Hino agreed to plead guilty to participating in a multi-year criminal conspiracy and serve five years of probation, during which time he will be barred from importing any diesel engines he made into America, and implementing a comprehensive code of conduct. program, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency said.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Kim said Hino “lied for years about compliance” and added “the company’s actions have led to massive air pollution and have been a serious violation of our country’s of the environment, consumer protection and foreign law.”
The solution includes an abatement program, valued at $155 million, to eliminate excess emissions from the violation by replacing marine and railroad engines, and a recall program, valued at $ 144.2 million, to repair engines in heavy trucks 2017-2019.
The EPA said that Hino admitted that between 2010 and 2019, it submitted false applications for engine certification approval and altered test data, performed incorrect tests and fabricated data basic tests.
Hino President Satoshi Ogiso said the company has improved its internal culture, monitoring and compliance systems.
“This decision is an important step in addressing legacy issues that we have worked hard to ensure are no longer part of Hino’s operations or culture,” he said in a statement.
The California Air Resources Board began an investigation in 2019 when Hino’s certification applications were reviewed and found inconsistencies in emissions data.
“Hino knowingly took illegal advantage of California’s incentives designed to accelerate the adoption of clean transportation technologies that protect the health and safety of Californians from pollution,” said the Attorney General. California General Rob Bonta.
Hino said it posted a surprise loss of 230 billion yen, or about $1.54 billion, in its second-quarter results in October to cover expected litigation costs.
Over the past decade, several automakers have admitted to selling vehicles with excessive diesel emissions, including Volkswagen (ETR: ) which has paid more than $20 billion in fines, penalties and settlements after a that it admitted in 2015 that it had cheated emissions tests by installing “defeating devices” and advanced software in about 11 million cars worldwide.
