Final week we reported on Daihatsu halting gross sales and shipments of all of its automobiles amid a probe into the Toyota subsidiary rigging security checks of 64 totally different fashions, and now the state of affairs has gotten even worse. On Wednesday, CNN reported that Daihatsu has now stopped manufacturing in any respect 4 of its Japanese factories, with the corporate admitting that it has solid the outcomes of crash checks for greater than 3o years.
The manufacturing unit shutdowns will final at the very least by the tip of January and have an effect on round 9,000 staff; there’s no phrase on whether or not Daihatsu’s vegetation in Indonesia and Malaysia will likely be affected. The shutdowns come after transport ministry officers performed a deeper probe following the earlier findings, as CNN studies:
The scandal is one other blow to the automaker, which had admitted in April to violating requirements on crash checks on greater than 88,000 automobiles, largely bought beneath the Toyota model in nations equivalent to Malaysia and Thailand.
In that case, “the within lining of the entrance seat door was improperly modified” for some checks, whereas Daihatsu didn’t adjust to regulatory necessities for sure facet collision checks, it stated in an announcement on the time.
In Could, the automaker stated it had found extra wrongdoing, revealing that it had submitted incorrect information for collision checks on two hybrid electrical autos. The corporate stated on the time it had stopped transport and promoting these fashions.
The most recent probe additional threatens the corporate’s status. In response to a report launched final Wednesday by the investigative committee, 174 extra instances have been discovered of Daihatsu manipulating information, making false statements or improperly tinkering with autos to go security certification checks.
In response to the investigation, the oldest case is from 1989, whereas the amount of instances has notably elevated since 2014. A number of the affected fashions fall beneath the Mazda, Subaru and Toyota manufacturers. Following the information Toyota’s shares dropped 4 p.c, and the corporate launched an announcement concerning the state of affairs. From CNN:
In response, the Japanese behemoth has promised to shake up its subsidiary, saying in an announcement final week that “basic reform is required to revitalize Daihatsu.”
“This will likely be an especially vital job that can’t be achieved in a single day,” Toyota stated, including that it will require a sweeping assessment of administration, operations, and the way the unit was structured.
“We acknowledge the acute gravity of the truth that Daihatsu’s neglect of the certification course of has shaken the very foundations of the corporate as an car producer,” Toyota added.
There have been no studies of accidents or deaths as a result of rigged checks. Daihatsu was first based in 1951, with Toyota first turning into a significant shareholder in 1967, growing its stake to 51.2 p.c in 1998 and taking up Daihatsu as a completely owned subsidiary in 2016. Daihatsu largely focuses on small automobiles and vans, particularly kei autos, and it has produced greater than 1.1 million automobiles to this point this yr.