Daihatsu has announced it has had three vehicle type approvals (VTAs) revoked by Japan’s ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism (MLIT) following its safety testing scandal. The VTAs are necessary for the mass production of vehicles, and the affected models are the Daihatsu Gran Max (which is sold in Malaysia), Toyota TownAce and Mazda Bongo.
This comes after Japan’s ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism (MLIT) conducted an on-site inspection and judged that fraud in applications for VTAs was particularly malicious for these models. The MLIT also confirmed new instances of procedural irregularities following its inspection.
To add to the VTAs being revoked, Daihatsu was instructed to promptly submit a report if a recall is necessary for two other models, namely the Daihatsu Cast and Toyota Pixis Joy, if they are non-conforming to standards. No Perodua models derived from Daihatsu ones – like the Ativa (based on the Rocky) – were mentioned in the announcement.
The rectification order issued by the ministry also requires Daihatsu to make fundamental reforms to its management, workplace environment and culture which resulted in “wrongdoings” in particular crash safety tests done for regulatory approval applications for several models. Daihatsu’s production sites in Japan have since suspended operations until at least the end of January 2024.
In an official release, Daihatsu said, “we have betrayed the trust of all our stakeholders including customers, and we would like to again convey our sincerest apologies for the great inconvenience that we have caused.”
“We take very seriously the indications in the rectification order that we received at this time, and in addition to conducting a thorough review of our certification procedures, we will implement reforms from the perspectives of management, the workplace environment and culture, and appropriate monodukuri and kotodukuri with strict legal compliance as a fundamental premise,” it added.
Meanwhile, Daihatsu’s parent company, Toyota, wrote in a separate release to issue its sincere apologies to all stakeholders, including customers, suppliers and dealers, for the inconvenience and concern that it has caused as a result of the procedural irregularities committed by Daihatsu.
“Toyota will fully support Daihatsu not only in reviewing its certification operations but also in making fundamental changes in its corporate culture and management so that Daihatsu can once again be trusted and chosen as a company of choice,” read the release.
“Going forward, we will work with Daihatsu to carefully respond to the concerns of our customers, suppliers, and dealers in a courteous and polite manner. In addition, we will report on measures for revitalisation and transformation to prevent recurrence and on the rectification order in about one month,” it ended.
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