Scandal! Toyota and Daihatsu cheated with crash tests

Toyota must climb deep into the dust. The Japanese manufacturer has admitted to cheating in crash tests of compact Daihatsu models, also sold as Toyota.

Akio Toyoda, a former Toyota CEO and now CEO, has apologized for some dubious actions by Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu.

Fraud at Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu

Daihatsu modified the test cars to improve their performance in the mandatory crash tests. The production versions do not have these adjustments and are therefore not as safe as the crash tests show.

Akio Toyoda speaks of an unacceptable breach of consumer trust. “We’re going to get to the bottom of it,” he said. “We want to know what was done and what the intentions of those involved were. That must never happen again.”

Models from Thailand and Malaysia

According to Daihatsu, the rumors surrounding the crash tests came to light through a whistleblower report. The brand says it immediately reported the problem and stopped shipping the models in question.

It’s not about cars that are available in Europe. Of the more than 88,000 cars involved, 11,800 were produced in Malaysia as the Perodua Axia and around 76,000 in Thailand as the Toyota Yaris Ativ.

Corporate culture research

Former Toyota boss Akio Toyoda once said his employees should be open about problems. In his opinion, this is the only way Toyota can build better and better cars.

Current Toyota CEO Koji Sato wants an investigation into the corporate culture where the Daihatsu scam may have happened. “We have to address the root causes so that something like this can never happen again.”

Daihatsu is no longer sold in Europe

Daihatsu is no longer on the market in Europe. The company, which specializes in small cars, has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota since 2016.