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Toyota’s truck-manufacturing subsidiary, Hino Motors Ltd., has officially admitted to falsifying emissions and fuel-economy test results for more than 100,000 diesel vehicles sold in the U.S. This plea formalizes its staggering $1.6 billion January settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, resolving both civil and criminal allegations of emissions fraud.

At a Wednesday hearing in federal court in Detroit, Hino Motors pleaded guilty to a single count of criminal conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith then sentenced the company to a $521.76 million criminal fine, a five-year probation period barring it from importing diesel engines into the U.S., and mandatory compliance and ethics reforms.

Massive Fraud Unveiled

The government accused Hino of deliberately deceiving regulators for nearly a decade, between 2010 and 2019. Prosecutors said the company and its U.S. subsidiaries—Hino Motors Manufacturing USA Inc. and Hino Motors Sales USA Inc.—submitted falsified or incomplete testing data to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while seeking emissions certifications.

By manipulating emissions test results, Hino was able to illegally sell noncompliant engines, gaining an unfair business edge over competitors.

"Hino unlawfully imported over 105,000 engines that did not comply with U.S. emissions standards and lied about what it was doing," said Adam Gustafson, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. "This criminal conduct gave Hino an unfair business advantage over law-abiding companies, including American firms, and generated over $1 billion in gross proceeds."

Civil Penalties and Forfeiture Judgment

Beyond the criminal fine, Hino’s January settlement included a $525 million civil penalty to resolve claims brought jointly by the federal government and the state of California. The agreement also imposed a $1.087 billion forfeiture judgment, which will be considered satisfied as long as Hino pays at least that amount in settlements tied to private lawsuits stemming from the same fraudulent conduct.

The EPA has since revoked the emissions certificates for all affected vehicles, which include:

• 105,000 heavy-duty highway diesel engines (model years 2010-2019)
• 5,700 nonroad diesel engines (model years 2011-2019) used in forklifts, tractors, and other heavy machinery

Government Takes a Hard Line on Emissions Cheating

Hino’s guilty plea marks another chapter in the U.S. government’s crackdown on emissions fraud in the wake of the Volkswagen "Dieselgate" scandal. Regulators are aggressively pursuing automakers that skirt environmental laws, particularly as emissions cheating directly impacts air quality and public health.

No representatives from Hino or Toyota immediately responded to requests for comment.