A former minister has called on the government to investigate whether a subsidiary of Toyota has sold trucks with emissions-cheating devices in the UK.

Hino Motors, a subsidiary of the Japanese carmaker, revealed in March it had manipulated emissions and fuel economy figures for certain diesel vehicles sold in Japan.

Theresa Villiers, the Conservative MP for Chipping Barnet and former environment secretary, has written to the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, to demand an investigation into whether Hino sold vehicles equipped with “defeat devices” allowing them to emit illegal levels of air pollution.

Investigations have been launched in Japan and the US. Sales of the Ranger and Profia trucks – as well as the coach bus S’elega – have been suspended in Japan. The company discovered that either the vehicles’ diesel emissions or fuel economy ratings had been tampered with by engineers.

The truck company discovered years of falsified engine data believed to affect as many as about 115,000 vehicles. The company said it had “failed to appropriately respond to internal pressures to achieve certain targets and meet schedules that were placed on Hino employees”.

Under legislation introduced after Volkswagen’s “dieselgate” scandal, the government can investigate a manufacturer if there is reason to believe that a vehicle could put public health at risk and can force the firm to take corrective action.

In the letter to Shapps, seen by the Guardian, Villiers said: “The question must be asked: was Hino’s emissions cheating in Japan an isolated incident, or was Hino also falsifying emissions data in other markets, such as the UK?

“Similar questions are being asked in the US, where Toyota has been found in breach of the Clean Air Act several times for failing to report defects that interfere with pollution controls on its vehicles.”

Hino has been contacted for comment. Toyota declined to comment.