The Australian subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. has appealed a Federal Court decision in a class-action case that ordered the Japanese auto giant to compensate Australian customers who purchased faulty Toyota vehicles.

Hundreds of thousands of Australian customers who purchased the pickup trucks and other vehicles can apply for compensation from Monday, but payouts, which could reportedly total more than AU$2.7 billion ($1.88 billion), may be delayed pending the appeal process.

The class action concerned around 264,000 Hilux, Fortuner and Prado vehicles sold in Australia between October 2015 and April 2020.

The court in April found that Toyota had misled customers in marketing and selling vehicles with faulty diesel particulate filters, which the court found caused a 17.5 percent reduction in value at the time they were sold.

With average compensation payments of AU$10,500 per vehicle expected, Toyota could be facing total compensation costs of more than AU$2.7 billion, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Toyota Motor Corp. Australia said in a statement that the appeal lodged with the Federal Court on June 10 included "challenges to the factual and legal basis for the award of damages," arguing that many of the class-action plaintiffs did not experience issues associated with the faulty filters, such as substantial white smoke or a reduction in engine power.

Matt McKenzie, a partner at law firm Gilbert + Tobin that conducted the class action against Toyota, told the ABC that there would not be any payouts until the appeal has been decided, a process that could take around a year.

==Kyodo

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