Hino’s commercial and legal woes, stemming from the falsified emissions testing certification revealed in March, has led to it being expelled from the Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT).

Since its establishment in April 2021, CJPT partners have been working to accelerate the spread of CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric) technologies which aim to contribute in achieving a carbon neutral society and reducing the burden on drivers and workers.

Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota), says the misconduct committed by Hino is incompatible with CJPT’s aspirations and goals and the continued inclusion of Hino in activities will not gain the understanding of its customers and the public. 

Hino will be excluded from all agreements, including the joint planning agreement, and Hino’s equity stake (10%) in CJPT will be transferred to Toyota. In the projects that CJPT is currently working on, such as the previously announced social implementation in Fukushima and Tokyo, Hino will play a minimal role to not cause inconvenience to CJPT’s customers. 

CJPT is working on several projects including hydrogen combustion engines, hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks and the standardisation of cartridge batteries for electric vehicles. Along with Toyota, other partners in CJPT projects include Isuzu, DENSO, Daihatsu and Suzuki.

“As the parent company and a shareholder of Hino, 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,” says Akio Toyoda.

“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.

“CJPT is a project to build the future together, based on Japan’s CASE technology. 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. This conclusion was reached after discussions with the companies involved. 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.”

In a statement following the expulsion, Hino Motors said:

“We take this decision very seriously. Throughout our history, we have made a variety of efforts under our motto to help find solutions to social issues. However, considering the fact that the misconduct in relation to certification testing has been long-term and widespread, we can only say that we have not even reached our starting point in solving these issues.

“We first will acknowledge and reflect deeply upon the seriousness of the misconduct we have committed and its root causes, and correct what we should correct. We need to return to our origins as a commercial vehicle manufacturer that helps people and goods get where they need to go, and behave resolutely to become reborn as a company that is once again needed by society.”