Toyota Raided For Fraudulent Safety Tests Data, Chairman Apologises

Japan’s transport ministry raided the headquarters of motor giant Toyota, as a scandal over faulty safety data escalated. The world’s largest carmaker apologised for providing incorrect or fraudulent data for safety certification tests.

Source: BBC

The scandal has rattled Japan’s car industry, with rivals Honda, Mazda and Suzuki also admitting to submitting faulty data. Toyota sold more than 11 million passenger vehicles in 2023. It has said the findings do not affect the safety of vehicles already on the road. The company has suspended the production of three car models – the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross.

Toyota has also been accused of using modified vehicles during safety collision tests, for vehicles that are no longer in production. The raids come a day after Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda apologised to customers and car enthusiasts.

He bowed deeply and held the position for a few seconds, which is customary in Japan when companies apologise for wrongdoing. 

“We neglected the certification process and mass produced our cars without first taking the proper precautionary steps,” Mr Toyoda said.

Japanese carmakers Honda, Mazda and Suzuki are also due to be inspected by the authorities over the same issue. Honda said it found wrongdoing on tests related to noise and engine power, but it has stressed that its vehicles are safe to drive.

Mazda has halted the shipments of some cars and said it will bear the cost to its suppliers. However, the company added that it is not planning on issuing recalls. The findings also apply to one Suzuki car model that is no longer being produced.

Last December, Toyota-owned carmaker Daihatsu closed all of its factories for more than a month, after admitting that it had falsified safety tests. Some of the cars were sold with Toyota branding. Daihatsu compensated more than 400 domestic suppliers during the period where its plants were idle.

Daihatsu Motor’s President and Chairman stepped down. Masahiro Inoue, Toyota’s CEO for Latin America and the Caribbean, replaced Soichiro Okudaira as Daihatsu’s President from 1 March 2024. 

Daihatsu found itself in hot water after a rigged collision safety test exposé. The Toyota subsidiary admitted last November it manipulated safety tests since 1989 (for one discontinued model).

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