Several of Japan’s most prominent car manufacturers have confessed to falsifying safety tests to get new vehicles certified for sale. These admissions follow a comprehensive government investigation initiated after instances of test-rigging were revealed at Daihatsu, a subsidiary of Toyota, and other companies.
Out of 85 manufacturers scrutinized by the authorities, five were found guilty of fraud during their approval processes. These include Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Suzuki, and engine maker Yamaha, as stated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism.
Type approval is mandatory and is granted only to products that meet legal, technical, safety, and environmental standards.
“Fraudulent activities in type-approval applications undermine the trust of users and undermine the very foundations of the automobile certification system, and it is extremely regrettable that new fraudulent activities have come to light,”
the ministry said in a statement.
Mazda was discovered to have falsified crash-test results for several models. Suzuki made false declarations regarding braking-system tests for one model, while Honda manipulated noise-testing data for 22 previously produced vehicles.
The investigation into Toyota is still ongoing. However, it has already been revealed that the automaker submitted false data in pedestrian-protection tests and falsified crash-test results for seven vehicle models.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda issued an apology on Monday. According to the Associated Press (AP), he suggested that some certification rules in Japan might be excessively stringent and acknowledged that the company might have been overly eager to complete tests amid a proliferation of new models.
Toyota has stated that this misconduct does not compromise the safety of vehicles currently on the roads. Production of three models—the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio, and Yaris Cross—has been suspended.
Toyota’s Japanese competitor, Mazda Motor Corporation, admitted to violations in crash tests for three discontinued models. Production of the Roadster and Mazda 2 has been halted due to incorrect engine-control software used in tests, according to AP.
Tokyo-based Honda Motor Company also issued an apology on Monday for improper testing procedures.
The ministry has pledged to further investigate the five companies and will impose strict measures based on the findings.
Toyota, the world’s largest automobile manufacturer, sells over ten million vehicles annually. Japan ranks as the third-largest car-producing country globally, following China and the United States.
