Hino Motors to pay $1.6B in penalties for emissions fraud
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have announced that Hino Motors, Ltd., a Toyota subsidiary, has pled guilty to criminal charges related to a years-long scheme to defraud the U.S. government and consumers by submitting false engine certification applications. The company was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark A. Goldsmith to pay a $521.76 million fine, serve a five-year probation during which it cannot import diesel engines into the U.S., and implement a comprehensive compliance and ethics program. Additionally, Hino Motors faces a $1.087 billion forfeiture.
From 2010 to 2019, Hino engineers falsified emissions data, improperly conducted tests, and concealed software that could impact emission control systems, violating the Clean Air Act. The fraudulent actions led to the importation and sale of over 105,000 non-compliant engines, primarily installed in heavy-duty trucks.
What people are saying
In a recent quote, Acting Assistant Administrator Jeffrey Hall for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said, “Hino falsely certified compliance with the Clean Air Act so that it could profit off Americans by sending illegal, polluting engines into the United States. Today’s plea and sentencing demonstrates that companies who intentionally evade our nation’s environmental laws, including by fabricating data to feign compliance with those laws, deserve punishment and will be held criminally accountable.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) added, “Hino unlawfully imported over 105,000 engines that did not comply with U.S. emissions standards and lied about what it was doing. Hino’s criminal conduct gave it an unfair business advantage over other law-abiding companies, including American companies, and generated over $1 billion in gross proceeds. We are committed to upholding the rule of law by prosecuting fraud and enforcing our Clean Air Act emissions standards.”
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About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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