According to foreign media reports, on March 4, Hino Motor, a subsidiary of Toyota, said that after an internal investigation of the company, it was found that the factory had a problem of engine data fraud, and it has been going on for many years, and has now stopped the transportation of medium and heavy trucks and buses equipped with data fraud engines.
It is reported that as many as 115,000 cars were affected by the incident, almost double Hino's annual sales in Japan. Hino's engines were also mounted on Toyota and Isuzu vehicles, and the incident affected about 3,000 Toyota buses and 1,200 Isuzu buses.
The specific falsified data refers to the emission performance and fuel consumption measurement data of the engine, mainly occurring at Hino's Japanese factory where the engine was tested, when testing 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 met expectations.
Hino Motors' "years of continuity" can be traced back to 2016.
In 2016, Mitsubishi Motors was in turmoil over a fuel economy data scandal, and Hino said in an investigation by Japan's Ministry of Transportation that no data fraud had been found.
In 2018, Hino found that the engines of vehicles shipped to the North American market did not meet the requirements of the United States, and the U.S. authorities also informed Hino that its trucks did not meet the standards, so Hino began an internal investigation into possible violations at the factory, and then expanded the scope of the investigation to investigate the engines for the Japanese market. The problem of engine data fraud exposed this time was also discovered at this time.
Now, after 4 years, Hino has finally decided to temporarily stop sales and deliveries and start recalling the problem vehicles. I don't know if it will be too late for Hino to make up for it, but it is certain that its customer trust has been greatly damaged, and it may face financial problems.
In response to the incident, Hino Motor President Satoshi Ogiso said: "The factory has not been able to cope with the pressure in achieving production targets and strictly adhering to production schedules, and it has not been found that misconduct is a big problem before. ”
Toyota said: "Hino must first take responsibility, find out the truth as soon as possible, and take comprehensive preventive measures." Toyota also said it would support Hino's efforts in this regard.
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism ordered Hino to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and discuss future preventive measures, and also issued an investigation order against seven heavy-duty truck manufacturers, including Toyota, Isuzu, and UD Trucks, requiring them to report violations by April 8.
On March 7, Hino Motor's stock price plummeted, down 16.76%, and Toyota Motor's stock price fell 6.53% due to admitting to the falsification of ultra-large-scale exhaust gas data.
In addition, it is understood that not only Hino Motors, but also Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Mazda, Mitsubishi and other companies have also admitted to cheating.