Japan
Toyota subsidiary has admitted to falsifying data on some models for more than 30 years
Wed, Dec 27, 2023, 03:46 GMT
Production halted Tuesday at Japanese automaker Daihatsu's last domestic plant as the Toyota subsidiary grapples with a safety testing scandal affecting 64 models spanning more than three decades.
Problems with falsified crash tests first came to light in April when the company admitted to manipulating data from four models made in Thailand and Malaysia from 2022 to this year.
The company has since admitted that similar problems occurred throughout almost its entire production process. An internal investigation uncovered falsified data from 1989.
“We have betrayed our customers’ trust,” Daihatsu CEO Soichiro Okudaira said at a news conference in Tokyo last week. “All blame lies with management.”
On December 20, the company announced that it would suspend deliveries of all models while further investigations and safety reviews were carried out. Initial investigations have shown that the reduction in vehicle development time was likely the main reason for the cuts in safety controls.
The head of the investigative panel, Makoto Kaiami, said: “There was enormous pressure on staff as any change in sales plans due to testing errors was widely viewed as unacceptable.”
Daihatsu identified doors that are difficult to open from the outside after an accident as a major safety concern, but there are no reports of related injuries.
Daihatsu Motor President Soichiro Okudaira and other executives bow during a news conference in Tokyo. Photo: âììçOëæ/AP
The 64 models include vehicles manufactured by Daihatsu on behalf of Toyota, Mazda and Subaru.
Production at factories across Japan is currently scheduled to stop until at least the end of January, affecting 9,000 workers and more than 8,000 suppliers. Daihatsu produced about 870,000 vehicles in Japan last year, a supply chain worth about 2.2 trillion yen ($15 billion).
Daihatsu, which was founded in Osaka in 1907 and acquired by Toyota in 1967, is currently negotiating compensation with unions and suppliers while production remains suspended.
Although Japanese cars are known for their safety and reliability, the industry has been hit by numerous scandals over the years.
In 2004, Mitsubishi Motors finally admitted to covering up defects in its 1977 vehicles, after partially admitting to problems four years earlier. Similar problems then occurred at the subsidiary Fuso Truck and Bus, which became one of Japan's worst corporate scandals.
Nissan, Suzuki, Mazda, Subaru and Yamaha Motors were all involved in inspection and data manipulation scandals between 2017 and 2018.
Daihatsu's parent company Toyota paid a record $1.2 billion to the U.S. Department of Justice in 2014 over a series of accelerator pedal claims and subsequent accidents. Despite numerous investigations, no mechanical failure was ever discovered, and driver error remains the most likely explanation for the accidents that occurred.
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