Toyota Motor Corporation and several other partnering automakers have parted ways with Hino Motors following the false engine data scandal. A report from Reuters specifies that Toyota, which had a controlling 50.1% in Hino, has taken this harsh step to safeguard its share value and brand’s goodwill.
According to previous reports, the Japanese transport ministry discovered that over 76,000 Hino trucks had skipped crucial emission regulations tests. Hino had falsified that the engines fall under the emissions regulations and did not recall the trucks, which prompted a probe against the company from the ministry.
A partnership under the title Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies (CJPT) was conceived in April 2021 for commercial vehicle technology sharing. It includes other automakers, namely, Isuzu, Suzuki, and Daihatsu.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda stated:
We believe that Hino’s participation will cause inconvenience to stakeholders, and we have decided that it is appropriate to expel Hino from CJPT.
He added that Hino will no longer partake in joint planning and other agreements in the partnership. The company will “play a minimal role” in the previously announced projects pertaining to the development of small electric commercial vehicles, Toyoda stated.
Responding to the expulsion, Hino stated that it has taken Toyota’s decision “very seriously”, claiming to have been working to rectify the issue.
Hino’s exodus from CJTP has caught the attention of several investors and watchdogs, opening up opportunities for other carmakers to join the alliance and putting the truckmaker’s fate in question.