It turns out that car manufacturers also cheat on crash tests. Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu used reinforced cars in crash tests to score higher. An investigative committee discovered 174 ‘irregularities’ in no fewer than 64 models.
It’s not just about Daihatsu’s, it’s also about… models from Toyota, Mazda and Subaru. In almost all cases these are so-called ‘kei cars’. This micro car is extremely popular in Japan and some export regions. This mainly concerns falsifications of impact test results.
The Japanese Toyota Group says it wants to implement ‘fundamental reforms’ after crash test fraud came to light at its subsidiary Daihatsu. Japan’s transport ministry said it would investigate Daihatsu’s headquarters in Osaka. Toyota apologized in a statement for the inconvenience caused by the situation.
Results of 88,000 cars obscured
An independent investigative committee set up by Toyota began working in April after Daihatsu management admitted lying about the results of side-impact tests for small cars. In concrete terms, the crash test results of 88,000 vehicles sold were allegedly covered up.
Most violations would occur on vehicles sold after 2014, but models sold as early as 1989 are also affected. The majority of these vehicles are so-called ‘kei cars’, small models that are very popular in Japan and represent almost a third of all new registrations.
Image damage for Toyota
Toyota announced this week that it would temporarily stop selling all Daihatsu models due to these catastrophic results. This affects not only Toyota models in Japan and abroad, but also Mazda and Subaru factories, which produce mini cars for Daihatsu and their own brand.
The falsified crash test results at subsidiary Daihatsu could be dangerous for Toyota, as they could damage Toyota’s high safety and quality image. Toyota said the financial damage caused by the fraud at Daihatsu cannot yet be estimated. The question now is whether this is an incident at one manufacturer, or whether this is the start of a larger scandal involving more car manufacturers.
Watch our automotive and mobility videos below:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.