Car makers in Japan are embroiled in another fraud scandal.
In the past year, Daihatsu, a Japanese automaker, faced a halt in their production as a result of the revelation that they had falsified crash test results for some of their models. More recently, the Japanese Ministry of Transportation has launched an investigation into five other Japanese carmakers: Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, Mazda, and Yamaha. These companies have been found to have cheated on approval tests for certain models, causing temporary suspensions in sales.
This latest scandal in the Japanese automotive industry follows a similar one at Daihatsu in the previous year, where the company fessed up to manipulated crash test results for specific models. Independent inspectors uncovered 174 irregularities spanning 25 test categories, some of which went back as far as 1989. In response, inspections were mandated for all manufacturers.
The Ministry of Transportation lamented the new discoveries of wrongdoing, indicating that these "fraudulent activities" are detrimental to the trust of consumers and the overall vehicle certification system. The five manufacturers received instructions to halt deliveries of the models affected by these issues.
Toyota Group has halted the sale of three models in Japan and identified seven models with irregularities, four of which will no longer be produced in Japan. The implicated vehicles were allegedly "tested using methods that deviated from government standards." These irregularities, however, didn't impact driving safety, and a recall is not necessary.
Honda, on the other hand, admitted to errors in tests pertaining to noise and engine power. Still, the company reaffirmed that their cars were safe and met their own company standards.
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In light of the investigations, other major Japanese car manufacturers, such as Toyota and Honda, have been implicated in test manipulations, raising concerns about their commitment to safety and regulatory compliance as car manufacturers. This ongoing fraud scandal in the Japanese auto industry is threatening to undermine consumer trust and the integrity of the vehicle certification process.
