Daihatsu, a subsidiary of Japanese Toyota, announced on Wednesday, December 20, the suspension of all sales after detecting falsified results of safety and emissions tests.
The company made this decision after receiving the results of an external investigation that identified manipulated information in 25 types of tests that the brand’s models underwent.
The irregularities affect 64 Daihatsu models and three vehicle engines, including 22 models and one engine marketed under the Toyota brand, as well as others manufactured for the Mazda and Subaru brands, according to a statement released by Toyota.
Daihatsu “has decided to temporarily suspend sales of all currently produced models, both in Japan and abroad,” while Toyota “has also decided to temporarily suspend sales of the affected models,” the company said.
The Japanese giant also expressed “sincere apologies for the inconvenience and concerns” caused by the situation.
Recall that last April, Daihatsu acknowledged irregularities in the safety data sent to regulators regarding collision tests on four models, relating to a total of 88,000 vehicles manufactured in Thailand and Malaysia in 2022 and 2023. The irregularities led to the suspension of production of two models, the Rocky and the Reize, the latter manufactured for Toyota.
In addition to interrupting the production and distribution of vehicles, Daihatsu “performed technical checks, on a case-by-case basis, on each vehicle to ensure that the level of safety and environmental performance meets legal standards,” the statement added.
Daihatsu is one of the largest manufacturers of small light vehicles, very popular in Japan and Southeast Asian countries, and as such, plays a key role in Toyota’s sales expansion strategy throughout the Asian continent.
