Toyota Australia has said it would "vigorously defend" the class action launched against it in the Supreme Court of Victoria over so-called "defeat devices" installed in its diesel vehicles.
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However, the company steadfastly would offer no further commentary "as the matter is before the courts".
The company said it "stands by its reporting, monitoring and evaluation standards in relation to the emissions for all its vehicles".
Victorian firm Maddens Lawyers says it is launching its action against the world's largest vehicle maker, claiming the company sold hundreds of thousands of diesel vehicles to Australian consumers that possess engine design features commonly known as "defeat devices".
The law firm says this action is not connected to a previous claim against Toyota, which relates to a defect with the diesel particulate filter (DPF) in certain Hilux, Fortuner and Prado diesel vehicles.
Named in the latest action are popular Toyota diesel models such as the Hilux, LandCruiser, RAV4, and Hiace.
The claim alleges that some diesel engines developed by Toyota include "design elements which tamper with the vehicle's emissions control system in order to enhance the car's performance".
It is said to result in cars "passing regulatory testing but then emitting unlawfully high levels of nitrogen oxide when on the road".
The lead plaintiff, Mr Adam Rowe, is advancing the class action on behalf of what is claimed as "up to" 500,000 eligible vehicle owners, and the law firm said that it had been working on this case for some months, amassing the technical evidence.
A defeat device is the common term given to a deliberate attempt - either using hardware or software - to thwart emission control legislation.
In the major international emission controversy known as "dieselgate", German giant Volkswagen developed a clever software form of defeat device for its passenger car diesel engines - using a steering angle sensor activation - which allowed the cars to record a lower emission result in a test laboratory, but another much higher result on the public road.
A special counsel for Maddens, Brendan Prendergast, said in a statement this claim against Toyota could potentially "overshadow" the VW one.
Hino Motors, a subsidiary of the Toyota Motor Corporation, admitted misreporting of its emissions and fuel economy tests earlier this year in Japan. Those Hino models affected have been suspended from export to Australia.
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