In recent years, Toyota has seemed like a company that can do no wrong in the eyes of car enthusiasts, with its remarkable dedication to producing performance cars and widespread motorsport involvement. In the eyes of the Japanese government, though, it turns out it can do wrong, as it’s been forced to suspend shipments and production of a number of cars over falsified data supplied during safety testing.
It’s the latest development in a scandal that first rocked Daihatsu, now fully Toyota-owned, late last year, when it paused production for a month over similar issues. As reported by the BBC, there was little to suggest that the cars being sold were unsafe, but the issue was that the cars being safety tested were fitted with different components to those being sold in an effort to keep production rolling at a high rate.
Toyota Corolla Fielder
It now appears the issue was wider-spread than initially thought, with Toyota itself being embroiled in the scandal as well as Mazda, of which Toyota owns 5.1 per cent, and traditional rival Honda. Per the BBC, Honda has specifically said that manipulated results were involved in its testing of engine noise and power rather than safety. One unspecified out-of-production Suzuki model is also said to be involved.
Toyota has found that falsified safety test results affected six models, three of which are now discontinued. It has paused production of the three still on sale – the Corolla Fielder and Corolla Axio, which aren’t sold in Europe, and the Yaris Cross, which is. It also found that engine power test results had been misreported on the previous-generation Lexus RX.
Lexus RX
Japan’s transport ministry has raided Toyota’s HQ as part of its investigation, and company chairman Akio Toyoda has issued an apology, saying: “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.”
Toyota maintains, however, that the affected cars already on the road are safe. Mazda similarly has no plans to issue recalls, but will compensate affected suppliers, as Daihatsu did. We just hope none of this has any effect on the many, many sports car projects Toyota’s currently rumoured to be working on.
