Japanese car giant Toyota has admitted to modifying vehicles intended for crash testing, less than a year after its Hino truck division was busted for falsifying emissions test data.
Toyotathe world’s largest car manufacturer by volume, has been caught cheating on the side impact tests of four new models intended to be sold in countries that already have relatively weak safety standards.
The scandal has not only exposed how cars used in crash tests were modified in a way that did not apply to vehicles sold to customers, but also reveals the gap in safety standards between developing countries and the developed ones.
Four new vehicles, badged either Toyota or Perodua (a Malaysian automaker owned by Toyota’s city car division, Daihatsu), depending on where they were sold, are caught up in the cheating scandal of the crash tests.
Two models are already on sale, with more than 88,000 sold in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South America, while the other two have yet to hit showrooms.
A statement issued by Toyota over the weekend revealed that the door panels of four new “developing market” vehicles destined for government side impact testing were modified to help them pass the test and provide better occupant protection.
news agency Reuters reported that a “notch” was added to the inner door liners to “minimize the risk in testing that the inside of the door could be torn by a sharp edge and cause injury to an occupant when the side airbag deployed in an accident.”
The change was subsequently not included in the production versions of the four vehicles: the Toyota Yaris Ativ sold in Asia, Mexico and the Middle East, the Perodua Axia in Malaysia, the Toyota Agya in Ecuador and a “model in development” unspecified.
After the rigged crash tests were exposed, Toyota announced that it plans to introduce the same hidden modification to models yet to enter production.
Some 88,000 vehicles sold to customers are affected, including 76,289 of the Toyota Yaris Ativ and 11,834 of the Malaysian Perodua Axia.
Although Toyota has taken responsibility for the embarrassing episode, the handling of the vehicles and the tests themselves were carried out by its small car division Daihatsu.
In a statement to the media, Daihatsu said it has paused deliveries of the affected vehicles until they are retested “in the presence of the review organization and certification authority.”
Although the door panels on production versions already on the road pose a risk of injury to occupants, Daihatsu says “customers using these models are not required to take any action to continue using them.”
Reuters reports Toyota says it has “received no reports of accidents or injuries related to the tampered side crash test.”
The Japanese auto giant claims it was alerted to the crash test misconduct after being contacted by a concerned whistleblower in April 2023, prompting an internal investigation that confirmed the allegations.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda, who was succeeded by Koji Sato as the company’s CEO last month, apologized for the “act that betrays the trust of customers” in a statement released to the media by the Japanese car giant.
“Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd’s fraud this time is the biggest safety issue for cars, and we believe it is an act that betrays customers’ trust and should never be tolerated,” said Toyoda-san .
“We sincerely apologize to our customers around the world and all related parties for the inconvenience and concern we have caused. We are very sorry.
“This is a problem that occurred in a Toyota brand passenger car, so we believe it is not only a problem for Daihatsu Motor, but also a problem that includes Toyota Motor Corporation.
“We will proceed with a detailed investigation, but I promise that we will thoroughly understand the facts of what is happening at the site, investigate the root cause, and work sincerely to prevent it from happening again,” the statement said.
“And we would like to inform the public of the facts found in the investigation in a timely manner and without hiding anything.”
“When the large-scale withdrawal problem occurred in 2009 [when nearly 10 million cars were recalled over ‘sticky’ accelerator pedals, due to the floor mats, or a mechanical issue]I myself promised customers around the world that Toyota will not run away, hide or lie… The Toyota Group will work as one and we will do our best to regain the trust of our customers as soon as possible “.
Toyota is known in the industry for reading the rule books closely and making their own interpretations of the regulations.
In Australia, a recent example of this is the reclassification of the four-wheel drive Toyota LandCruiser Series 70, which was on the verge of extinction until the paperwork was changed to move it out of the commercial vehicle category lightweight to a light truck to circumvent the new safety regulations.
The revelation of crash-test cheating comes nearly 12 months after another Toyota subsidiary, the Hino truck division, admitted it had falsified emissions data for what reports estimate are up to 860,000 trucks.
The company said it had modified hardware and software in vehicles intended for emissions testing, measured values incorrectly, changed the calibration of emissions test equipment or altered test data after gathering the
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