Toyota has announced that one of its subsidiary companies manipulated crash test results.
The Toyota Motor Corp has confirmed that Daihatsu, its subsidiary, manipulated test results related to side impact crashes in multiple vehicle models. Toyota explained that the test vehicles were equipped with a different door panel, leading to better test results.
Daihatsu, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation since August 2016, has been found to have falsified side impact crash test results for several auto models, according to Toyota. The automaker revealed that during the testing, a different door panel was used which resulted in improved test scores.
However, Toyota stated that the door panel was not used during the manufacturing of the autos. Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda denounced the deception and promised a detailed investigation to determine the extent of the test deceptions. Despite the fraudulent testing, there have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the rigged side-crash test. Daihatsu sales make up 4% of the Toyota Group’s vehicle sales as of 2021.
Daihatsu officials revealed that the company was alerted to the falsified test results by a whistleblower. They reported the falsification to regulatory agencies and immediately stopped shipments of the affected autos.
The falsified test results were for Toyota Yaris Ativs produced in Thailand and Perodua Axias manufactured in Malaysia, potentially impacting over 88,000 vehicles.
Daihatsu officials stated that they will resume shipments of these models only after conducting safety tests that will be observed by regulators.
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