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TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Hino Motors will suspend shipment of small trucks after confirming that a widespread data falsification scandal included those models, it said on Monday, highlighting deepening problems at the Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) Corp unit.
The truck and bus maker told a news conference that during a transport ministry investigation additional misconduct regarding emissions was found that affects more than 76,000 vehicles. The scandal, which came to light in March, was previously not believed to have impacted the smaller trucks.
Shares in Hino fell about 3.5% while the benchmark Nikkei 225 share average was slightly weaker. The issue has been a nagging headache for Toyota, which owns 50.1% of Hino.
“We are extremely disappointed that Hino again betrayed the expectations and trust of its stakeholders,” Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in a statement.
Hino said in a statement that some 76,694 of its Dutro small truck model were impacted, bringing the total number of vehicles involved in the scandal to more than 640,000.
The latest shipment stoppage means that Hino will be pausing shipment of 60% of its vehicles for the year, a spokesperson said.
The Dutro model has been sold since 2019.
Hino President Satoshi Ogiso told a news conference the vehicle maker was checking the impact to earnings from the additional misconduct, adding that it had not found instances of vehicles exceeding emissions limits.
He also said it was “indefensible” that the additional falsification was unearthed by the transport ministry, not the company nor its special investigation committee set up to investigate.
A company-commissioned panel said in a report this month Hino had falsified emissions data on some engines going back to at least 2003, or more than a decade earlier than previously indicated.
Hino blamed an inward-looking corporate culture and a management failure to engage sufficiently with workers that led to an environment that put greater priority on achieving schedules and numerical targets than following processes.
The vehicle maker also falsely reported to the transport ministry there were no improper incidents in emissions and fuel efficiency tests at the time of receiving certification in 2016, following the revelation of Mitsubishi Motors (OTC:MMTOF) Corp’s mileage cheating scandal.
