There’s a growing safety scandal in Japan affecting millions of cars, and it has come to light following an investigation by government authorities.
Carmakers including Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha have admitted filing false safety reports. While most of the cars are discontinued models, Toyota and Mazda have been forced to halt sales of current cars involved.
The worst offender of the group appears to be Toyota, and you may have read our report on the latest chapter of this saga, which began when irregularities were discovered in subsidiary Daihatsu’s safety testing and reporting of results. In Japan, the carmaker has stopped sales of the locally made Yaris Cross (our units are sourced from Indonesia and are therefore unaffected), Corolla Axio, and Corolla Fielder. Mazda, meanwhile, has paused production on its hardtop MX-5 and 1.5-liter gasoline Mazda 2 hatchback while the tests are redone.
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Mazda has said that it faked impact tests and manipulated engine software on specific models during testing, while Toyota admitted to falsifying engine test results and reporting that it had done regulation crash tests when the required procedures weren’t followed.
Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda issued an apology at a lengthy press conference, and looks to be under pressure as the carmaker approaches its annual shareholders meeting later this month, with calls for shareholders to block the company founder’s grandson from reappointment.
“As the person responsible for the Toyota Group, I would like to extend my sincere apologies to our customers, car enthusiasts, and all stakeholders for this issue, following Hino, Daihatsu, and Toyota Industries Corporation,” Toyoda said. “I am truly sorry.”
Mazda said in a statement that it “deeply regretted any inconvenience.”
Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha have admitted faking results on tests of cars they say are no longer on sale, though Suzuki said that its misdemeanor was the result of “tight deadlines” meaning a test couldn’t be done properly.
The irregularities came to light as Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism conducted an investigation following previous safety certification issues at Toyota group companies, where Daihatsu had admitted to falsified safety data and engine division Toyota Industries Corporation said that it had supplied faked engine data.
Carmakers were told of the investigation in January 2024 and required to submit reports to the government on their test procedures. Representatives from the transport ministry visited Toyota offices this week and have indicated that they will pay further visits to the carmakers.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
