Hino admits malpractice over emissions

THE lawyers are circling in what is shaping as yet another Dieselgate scandal, only this time it is not Volkswagen in the firing line but Toyota truck affiliate Hino with potentially up 860,000 trucks affected globally.

 

In conjunction with a class action lawsuit brought recently in the United States, a Special Investigation Report this month by a Hino-commissioned panel said the company had falsified emissions data on some engines going back to at least 2003, or more than a decade earlier than previously admitted.

 

According to information unearthed by GoAuto, 26 different engines are affected globally by the tampered data and at least 39,000 Hino vehicles sold in Australia between 2012 and 2021 could be fitted with these engines.

 

Gerard Malouf and partners (GMPLaw), as well as Bannister Law, are individually investigating and considering significant Australia-wide class actions against Hino Motor Sales Australia over faked data the company issued to receive tax breaks.

 

Bannister Law won the recent class action against Toyota for DPF issues and also won cases against Volkswagen and Audi. It is currently conducting a class action against Mitsubishi over fuel consumption labelling.

 

As a result of the data scandal, Hino issued a global recall 47,000 vehicles made between April 2017 and March this year with a further 20,900 following soon.

 

Hino blamed an inward-looking corporate culture and management’s failure to engage sufficiently with workers that led to an environment that put greater priority on achieving schedules and numerical targets than following processes.

 

It was also discovered that a tax reprieve was a key motivator behind the malpractice.

 

“Hino aimed to achieve the fuel consumption standards in order to be eligible for tax preferential treatment but failed to achieve its goal, and thus, it engaged in misconduct by intentionally adjusting the calibration values of the fuel flowmeter in order to meet the specification values required for application,” the report stated.

 

Data was also falsified by measuring “the idling fuel flow quantity before the fuel flow quantity was stabilised and engaged in misconduct by intentionally selecting advantageous fuel consumption data”.

 

The findings, led by committee chairman Kazuo Sakakibara, claimed employees were “unable to change” due to the company’s past successes.

 

Representatives at Hino said the scandal was brought on by an “environment where engineers did not feel able to challenge superiors”.

 

Hino’s president Satoshi Ogiso apologised after the report’s damning findings, claiming the company’s management took its responsibilities and public image seriously.

 

Mr Ogiso said he received a message from Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who was angered by the scandal, accusing Hino of betraying the trust of company stakeholders.

 

Locally, Hino Motors Ltd (Australia) (HML) has recently commented on the findings of that SIR and how it may affect Australian Hino owners.

 

The statement said HML has released the findings of the SIR which has been investigating misconduct concerning engine emissions certification in Japan.

 

“The investigation was commissioned in March 2022, following HML identifying past misconduct in relation to its applications for certification concerning the emissions and fuel economy performance of its engine for the Japanese market,” said HML in a statement.

 

“The SIR has identified misconduct in relation to Japanese emissions certification tests that have been relied on for the sale of a number of engine variants in Hino 500 Series Standard Cab FC, FD and FE medium-duty trucks and Hino Poncho buses sold in Australia.

 

“The misconduct concerning engine certification does not affect the drivability of the affected vehicles and raises no vehicle safety concerns,” according to the statement which goes on to say HML is treating these matters seriously and is committed to continuing to review and improve its emissions certification procedures.

 

HML has voluntarily put on hold the shipment of vehicles fitted with affected engines while it engages with the relevant authorities in Japan.

 

Hino Motor Sales Australia (HMSA), as the distributor of Hino vehicles in Australia, will also suspend imports and deliveries to dealers. HMSA will also not accept any new orders for the affected vehicles pending the outcome of HML’s engagement with the authorities in Japan.

 

“Hino is committed to working with dealers and customers about these issues and engaging with the relevant authorities in Australia,” the statement says.

 

This week, US law firm Lieff Cabraser, started a class action against Hino over the same concerns.

 

“Lieff Cabraser is investigating reports that Hino Motors (US) and majority Hino owner Toyota Motor Corporation (the Japanese parent of Toyota North America) have publicly admitted to intentionally cheating on their bus and truck vehicles’ emissions,” the legal company stated.

 

Bannister Law is calling for all Australians who owned or leased a Hino vehicle at any point between 2004 and 2021 to register in an online form. GMPLaw’s online registration site for affected Hino owners is: www.hinoclassaction.com.au