Daihatsu closes all factories due to crash test scandal – Kommersant

Toyota’s small car unit, Daihatsu Motor, is shutting down all of its factories, it said. The Japan News. Three of the four have stopped producing cars today, and the last one will suspend operations tomorrow, December 26th.

Back in April, Daihatsu admitted falsifying the results of side impact crash tests for 88 thousand cars. Subsequently, an independent commission conducted an investigation and declared serious violations in relation to all 64 models and three engines produced by Daihatsu. The audit showed that falsification of crash test results was allowed at Daihatsu in previous years.

December 20 company announced about the suspension of deliveries of all its models produced both in Japan and abroad. And on December 21, employees of the Japanese Ministry of Transport conducted search at Daihatsu headquarters.

Daihatsu faces fines for these violations, and the Ministry of Transport may require the recall of previously sold vehicles. Toyota Motor management offered its “sincere apologies for the inconvenience and concern for all concerned, including consumers.”

The company accounts for about a third of the small car market in Japan. Daihatsu sold 1.7 million vehicles last year. In the first ten months of 2023, Daihatsu produced 1.1 million vehicles. Of these, almost 40% were assembled at the company’s factories outside Japan. During the same period, about 660 thousand cars produced by Daihatsu were sold worldwide, which represents 7% of sales of all Toyota Motor cars.

Kirill Sarkhanyants