In January 2025, Hino Motors pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Detroit to fraud charges for systematically falsifying emissions test data on heavy-duty diesel engines sold in the United States from 2010 through 2022. The company agreed to pay $1.6 billion in fines. A Toyota-commissioned investigation published in August 2022 found that the falsification dated back to at least October 2003 in Japan — a span of 19 years.
The fraud crossed multiple management tenures, with Hino's internal investigation blaming a corporate culture that prioritized meeting targets over compliance. Toyota and Isuzu expelled Hino from their Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies joint venture in August 2022. The scandal forced Hino into a merger with Mitsubishi Fuso under a new holding company, Archion, where Toyota and Daimler Truck each hold 25% and Hino lost its independence as a Toyota-controlled entity.
Hino's financial results were devastated. The company reported a net loss of ¥117.7 billion in fiscal 2023. It was forced to sell a third of its headquarters factory land. The fraud and subsequent restructuring effectively ended Hino's six-decade history as a standalone commercial vehicle manufacturer.
A culture prioritizing targets over compliance sustained the fraud across tenures; the $1.6B fine and forced merger ended Hino's standalone history.
A corporate culture that prioritized meeting targets over compliance sustained the falsification for 19 years across multiple management changes.
The fraud was not detected by Toyota, Hino's parent company with a 50.1% stake, for nearly two decades — meaning the oversight systems at the parent level also failed.
Hino continued selling non-compliant engines in the U.S. until 2022 even after the Toyota investigation was underway, compounding the violation.
A compliance failure that spans decades and multiple CEOs is not a rogue problem — it's a culture problem. A parent that does not detect a 19-year fraud at a subsidiary does not have better controls.
Hino pleaded guilty to U.S. fraud charges and paid $1.6 billion. It was expelled from Toyota-Isuzu joint venture. The company merged with Mitsubishi Fuso to form Archion, losing its independence. Toyota's stake was diluted to 25% of the holding company. Hino sold a third of its headquarters land to cover losses.
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