Hino Motors, a subsidiary of Toyota that manufactures trucks and buses, has revealed that it has had considerable issues with testing and certifying emissions since 2016. It has halted its sales and deliveries and will commence recalls soon.
Hino Motors also produces the Land Cruiser Prado, FJ Cruiser, and Dyna trucks. The corporation has plants in Japan and Thailand, as well as in the United States where it only produces parts for Toyota. Some Isuzu vehicles use these parts in their engines as well.
The company officials revealed that the problem affects over 115,000 vehicles but it appears to be limited to facilities in Japan for now. In an attempt to lower emissions, Hino’s employees swapped critical components of the exhaust system to achieve the target levels.
Hino’s Delayed Action
Hino’s president describes the issue as “a failure to handle the pressure to reach numerical targets and to strictly adhere to schedules”.
The corporation was alerted by American authorities in 2018 that its trucks were substandard but it has chosen to begin recalls, momentarily halt sales, and collaborate with authorities to resolve the problems that have arisen as a result of the allegation after four years of neglecting them. This is crucial, and it could throw the manufacturer in financial jeopardy as it was questioned in 2016 if it had discovered any faked emissions data but had replied in the negative.
Interestingly, it occurred at the same time when Mitsubishi was being criticized for the exact problem Hino now has and was attempting to fix them.
This is one of the most recent emissions controversies, following Dieselgate which had led to global inspections and the revelation of several automakers involved in questionable practices.
Toyota has previously issued a public statement on the subject, emphasizing the need for Hino to get to “the bottom of the situation as soon as possible by taking preventive measures”.
In a press statement quoted by Nikkei, the Japanese Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport said the false emissions statistics from Hino “erodes the trust of automotive purchasers and threatens the basic underpinnings of the certification system”.
Hino has a market dominance of more than 30 percent in Japan, with customers all over the world. It will be a tough task to carry out the recalls effectively and check for any other errors. However, it may have sufficient time although it took six years longer than Mitsubishi and the United States to come to the same conclusion as other manufacturers were found guilty of deceiving clients and regulators.
Via autoevolution
