The Japanese small car manufacturer Daihatsu, a subsidiary of the world’s largest car manufacturer Toyota, is now stopping all deliveries worldwide due to years of falsified safety tests. Daihatsu made this decision following the publication of a report by independent experts. Daihatsu had already admitted in the spring that it had manipulated the results of accident tests on some models. The expert commission was then set up. The government announced inspections of the factories on Thursday, according to broadcaster NHK.
In their report, the experts write that they discovered a total of 174 additional “irregularities” in 25 test categories – some of which date back to 1989. They mentioned, for example, tests of doors or side impact protection. A total of 64 models are affected, including those that are no longer manufactured and those that Daihatsu manufactured for the manufacturers Toyota, Mazda and Subaru.
According to the experts, the main reason for the manipulated tests is “extreme time pressure” when developing models. The employees responsible for the security tests were under enormous pressure to succeed. Cars would have had to pass the crash test on the first try, reducing the number of vehicles that would have had to be destroyed. This should reduce costs. “There was a perception that mistakes cannot be excused,” said the chairman of the expert commission, Makoto Kaiami.
Deliveries of affected Toyota models are also suspended
The boss of Daihatsu, Soichiro Okudaira (67), apologized to customers during a press conference for having abused their trust. Approval tests are “indispensable” for a car manufacturer – “our behavior deserves contempt”. Parent company Toyota also expressed its “sincere apology” for the “inconvenience and distress” this “situation” had caused. Daihatsu’s misconduct shook “the foundations of the company”.
Delivery of the affected Toyota models has been suspended for the time being. Toyota will also check whether customers can continue to use their vehicle without worry. Toyota announced “fundamental reforms” at Daihatsu. It was only last year that it emerged that tests at the truck manufacturer Hino were inadequate.
Daihatsu produced more than 1.7 million cars in the fiscal year that ended March, most of them in Japan. The Toyota subsidiary sells most of its cars on its home market and in Asia. Daihatsu started car production in 1931 with a three-wheeled vehicle. The company has been part of Toyota since 1967.