Toyota Removes Hino From EV Partnership Over Emissions Scandal

"We are extremely disappointed with the company's misconduct in relation to the certification testing, which has greatly undermined the trust of our customers and all other stakeholders," Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in a statement. "Hino has committed misconduct in engine certification for a long period of time, and the company is in a situation where it is not to be recognized as one of the 5.5 million individuals in the Japanese automotive industry."

Honor is a critical part of Japanese society, and it appears Toyota is unwilling to defend Hino and will punish those involved in a scandal that tarnished its brand.

As Toyota's truck arm, Hino had joined the consortium to expedite battery electric, hydrogen combustion, and hydrogen fuel cell commercial trucks of all sizes. However, Hino had actively been falsifying reports on a number of their diesel engines dating back to 2003.

Hino is about to be in deep trouble since the fallout from the scandal is continuing. Initially, a recall of 60,000 trucks was made for excessive pollution but has been further complicated by the stop sale order on the company's 4.0-liter diesel engine.

About 60% of the Hino commercial truck models cannot be shipped until the investigation is concluded.

Hino management claims they were not aware of the parameters of the test, but Toyota is not in a forgiving mood. The scandal will undoubtedly hinder the CJPT progress in the EV truck market, which could not have come at a worse time. The Tesla Semi is coming this year, and Hino's scandal may have inadvertently handed the American brand a possible monopoly.

"As of now, we believe that Hino's participation will cause inconvenience to stakeholders, and we have decided that it is appropriate to expel Hino from CJPT," Toyoda said. "We will continue to work with our partners on the project to solve the issues facing the transportation industry and contribute to achieving a carbon-neutral society."