Daihatsu has admitted to cheating in car safety testing. Photo: Bloomberg. |
According to NHK, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has lifted the transportation suspension order for 5 models produced by Daihatsu. Last year, Daihatsu admitted to cheating in safety testing for its cars, prompting the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to issue a temporary suspension order for the entire shipment of Daihatsu cars until compliance with regulations is confirmed.
According to the announcement, Daihatsu will be allowed to resume transportation for the Daihatsu Gran Max, Toyota ProBox, Toyota Town Ace, Mazda Familia Van, and Mazda Bongo models.
The decision was made after the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism conducted tests on 45 Daihatsu car models. As a result, the Japanese regulatory agency confirmed that the 5 aforementioned car models meet safety regulations.
For the remaining car models, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism stated that testing will continue and results will be released soon.
According to NHK, Daihatsu stated that it will start preparing for the resumption of production operations for these 5 car models. However, the exact timing has not been confirmed as Daihatsu still needs to coordinate with suppliers and address related issues.
In Japan, all of Daihatsu’s production plants are still in a period of shutdown. According to Bloomberg, Daihatsu’s production line in Japan will only restart from mid-February.
Daihatsu’s plants in Japan will remain closed and are scheduled to resume operations in mid-February. Photo: Kyodo News. |
Daihatsu, a subsidiary of Toyota, recently faced a safety testing scandal that led to the suspension of production at its plants in Japan.
The Daihatsu safety testing scandal began in April 2023 when the company admitted to manipulating side collision safety tests for certain Daihatsu and Toyota models.
At the time, reports indicated that Daihatsu intervened in the safety testing process for over 88,000 car models. This includes approximately 76,000 Toyota Yaris Ativ cars specifically for the Thai market, Mexico, and Gulf countries, as well as around 11,800 Perodua Axia cars produced in Malaysia.
By December 2023, the results of an independent investigation were announced, revealing additional anomalies in 174 inspection points across 25 safety categories conducted by Daihatsu. A total of 64 car models and 3 engine models were affected, including 22 car models and one engine released under the Toyota brand.
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