The Japanese Hino Motors, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor, pleaded guilty to an emissions cheating scheme and agreed to pay more than $1.6 billion as part of a settlement with several US federal agencies. Quartz writes details about this.
The company was accused of conspiring to illegally sell more than 105,000 diesel engines in the US between 2010 and 2022 that did not meet environmental standards. As a result of these actions, Hino earned about $1.087 billion.
The scandal erupted in March 2022, when it was revealed that Hino employees had falsified engine test results. More than 643,000 vehicles equipped with these engines were manufactured with violations, tens of thousands of them were recalled.
The commission investigating the scandal found that the cause was harsh working conditions and a company culture that did not allow for discussion or questioning of management decisions. This problem was also registered at another Toyota subsidiary - Daihatsu.
Hino is facing multiple charges from federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the FBI, the Department of Transportation and the state of California. The company agreed to pay:
$521.76 million in criminal penalties,
$442.5 million in civil penalties,
$236.5 million in settlement of claims in California.
Hino will also be prohibited from importing diesel engines into the United States for a five-year probationary period. Hino CEO Satoshi Ogiso called the deal an important step in overcoming the company's long-standing problems. He said Hino has implemented significant reforms to prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future.