Toyota subsidiary Hino Motors has agreed to pay $1.6 billion (£1.3 billion) and plead guilty to misleading US regulators about the amount of emissions produced by its diesel engines, according to society and US government agencies.
The truck maker will also be banned from exporting its diesel engines to the country for five years.
This comes after Hino was charged with fraud in a Detroit court for selling 105,000 illegal motors in the United States between 2010 and 2022.
The settlement still needs to be approved by a U.S. court.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Hino submitted “false and fraudulent” emissions testing and fuel consumption data as part of a “criminal conspiracy” that allowed it to import and sell its engines in the United States.
“Hino Motors engaged in a years-long project to modify and fabricate emissions data in order to stay ahead of its competitors and improve its bottom line,” the FBI director said , Christopher Wray.
“To further this fraudulent scheme, Hino violated laws and regulations intended to protect the health of Americans and the environment.”
In addition to banning the import of diesel engines for five years, Hino has also committed to implementing a compliance and ethics plan during this period.
“We take this resolution seriously and will ensure that the solutions on the ground, the environmental mitigation program and the strengthening of our compliance system… are implemented,” said Satoshi Ogiso, director general. and president of Hino, in a press release.
“We deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers and stakeholders.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Hino also agreed to recall some violating heavy-duty trucks and replace marine and locomotive engines across the country to offset excess air emissions.
In order to cover costs arising from its legal problems, Hino said that in its second quarter financial results announced in October, it had reported an extraordinary loss of 230 billion yen (£1.2 billion, 1 .48 billion dollars).
Over the past decade, several automakers have admitted to lying about the emissions produced by their diesel engines.
In what has become known as the Dieselgate scandal, brands from across the Volkswagen business empire have been implicated, including Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda, as well as Volkswagen itself.
Volkswagen has spent more than 30 billion euros (£25 billion, $30.9 billion) paying fines, carrying out recalls and compensating its customers.
