The current vehicle testing scandal in Japan involves some of the world’s major automakers.
The scandal revolves around irregularities and falsified data in vehicle safety testing and certification, affecting companies such as Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.
Toyota Motor and Mazda Motor have temporarily suspended shipments or sales of certain vehicles after Japan’s Ministry of Transportation identified irregularities in their certification applications.
On Monday, the ministry reported finding irregularities in applications for certification of models from Toyota, Mazda, Honda Motor, Suzuki Motor and Yamaha Motor. As a result, it ordered Toyota, Mazda and Yamaha to suspend shipments of some vehicles.
These events mark a expansion of security testing scandal among Japanese car manufacturers.
The ministry had previously asked automakers to review their applications for vehicle certification following a safety testing scandal at Toyota’s compact car unit Daihatsu that came to light last year.
The Japanese Ministry discovered that these companies had falsified or manipulated data in their security testing and certification processes.
Toyota involved
Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker by volume, temporarily halted shipments and sales of three car models produced in Japan.
Affected models include the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross. A Toyota spokesperson said the company was still investigating issues related to the vehicles’ fuel efficiency and emissions, and aimed to complete the investigation by the end of June.
President Akio Toyoda apologized to the media for the massive fraud in the certification tests of seven vehicle models. He said, “We sincerely apologize” and bowed deeply at the news conference.
He also suggested that some certification standards might be too strict, but emphasized: “We are not a perfect company. But if we see something wrong, we will take a step back and continue trying to correct it.”
How did the scandal arise?
This scandal is a continuation of safety testing problems that have plagued the Japanese auto industry.
Last year, a scandal involving Toyota’s compact car unit, Daihatsu, revealed rigged side crash safety tests on 88,000 small cars, most sold as Toyotas.
This led the Ministry of Transport to order almost 90 manufacturers to re-examine their testing procedures.
In December 2023, an internal Daihatsu investigation showed that most of its vehicles had not been adequately tested for crash safety. Toyota subsequently suspended all engine shipments in January after an investigation revealed falsified power output figures.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda acknowledged: “The apparent breakdown of testing systems at Toyota and its group companies is an embarrassment for an automaker that has prided itself for decades on the finesse of its production.”
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