No Japan fuel data fallout, says Hino Australia

Hino Motor Sales Australia says a fuel data scandal that has rocked its global headquarters in Japan will have no impact on its Australian operations.

Late last week, Japan-based Hino Motors Ltd (HML) announced it would stop domestic sales of three of its engines and the vehicles they were fitted to in the wake of “past misconduct” around how their emissions and fuel economy were calculated.

“HML has identified misconduct concerning the falsification of engine performance data in emissions durability testing for one engine model and in the measurement of fuel economy performance in certification tests for two other engine models,” it said.

Hino Motors Ltd also said it had “identified a problem” relating to the fuel economy performance of another as-yet undisclosed engine model.

In Australia, Hino Motor Sales Australia (HMSA) distributes Hino vehicles with a number of engine variants available across its light-duty 300 Series, medium-duty 500 Series and heavy-duty 700 Series trucks, as well as buses including the Poncho, RN and RK models.

However, none of the vehicles sold here has used the affected engines.

“The suspension of sale in Japan affects engine variants certified by the Japanese regulator, which have not been sold in Australia,” HMSA said in a statement released today. 

“While there are no implications for the Australian market at this time, HML’s investigations are ongoing,” it said. “HMSA is committed to engaging with the relevant authorities about these matters.”

Hino said its engine irregularities related to engine performance and did not affect the driveability of the vehicles, or their safety. It is believed around 115,000 vehicles sold in Japan may be affected.

Vehicle makers have faced severe penalties for cheating on emissions standards, with Volkswagen's Dieselgate costing the company dearly.

The German car and commercial vehicle group's Dieselgate global emissions scandal, where it was accused of falsifying emissions tests worldwide, attracted a $125 million penalty in Australia after the consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, took it to court in 2017.

The German carmaker was accused of importing more than 57,000 vehicles into Australia between 2011 and 2015 that had used the “two-mode” software system that could recognise when an engine was undergoing specific fuel and emissions tests, and switch to a special low-emissions mode.

In 2020 Volkswagen unsuccessfully appealed to overturn the Federal Court penalty – the highest fine any business has ever paid in Australia for a breach of consumer law – but is now appealing to the High Court to have the fine reduced to $75 million.

Volkswagen’s Amarok trade ute was the only commercial vehicle caught up in the scandal.