Source: Caijing Network2022-03-07 14:44
Financial Network Auto News March 7, according to Gasgoo, Hino Motors, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor, said that the company’s internal investigation found that the factory had falsified engine data. Almost double Hino’s annual sales in Japan. Therefore, Hino has stopped the transportation of medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses equipped with data fraud engines.
The misconduct mainly occurred at the Japanese factory where Hino conducted engine tests. During the test of one of the engines, because the results were not up to standard, the testers directly replaced the exhaust system components until the test results of this engine were as expected.
Hino’s move is the latest revelations of falsification of emissions and fuel economy figures in the auto industry, after Volkswagen Group, Mitsubishi Motors and others have admitted to cheating.
“The plant has failed to cope with the pressure in terms of meeting output targets and strictly adhering to production schedules,” Hino President Satoshi Ogiso said.
Back in 2018, Hino had discovered that the engines of vehicles destined for the North American market did not meet U.S. regulations, and decided to launch an internal investigation into possible violations at the factory. Since then, Hino has also expanded the scope of the investigation to include engines for the Japanese market, and the above-mentioned misconduct has also been exposed.
The manipulation of data on its Japanese-market engine results dates back to at least around 2016, a year when Mitsubishi Motors was in turmoil over a fuel-economy data scandal, and Hino said in an investigation by Japan’s transport ministry that no data falsification was found.
“The fact that misconduct has not been detected before is a big problem for our company,” Ogiso said. An estimated 43,000 trucks will be recalled because the retest could produce emissions levels that exceed legal limits. Hino’s engines are also used in Toyota and Isuzu Motor Company vehicles, and the incident affected about 3,000 Toyota buses and 1,200 Isuzu buses.
“Hino must first take responsibility, find out the truth as soon as possible, and take comprehensive preventive measures,” a Toyota spokesman said. Toyota would support Hino’s efforts in this regard, the source said.
Hino, which operates independently of Toyota, sold 59,676 trucks and buses in Japan in the fiscal year ended March 2021, and it has a more than 30 percent share of commercial vehicle sales.
On the same day, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said in a press release that Hino’s data manipulation “eroded the trust of car consumers and shook the foundation of the testing and certification system.” The department ordered Hino to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and explore future preventive measures. In addition, the department also issued investigation orders against seven heavy-duty truck manufacturers including Toyota, Isuzu, and UD Trucks. The companies were given until April 8 to report violations.