There’s no rest for the wicked, it seems. The latest safety saga to engulf Toyota in Japan involves a batch of new and discontinued vehicles that have been certified using improper crash test data. The company reported this to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) on May 31, having been instructed to go over its model certification applications on January 26.
A total of three cars currently in production, the Corolla Fielder and Axio and the Yaris Cross (Toyota’s own, not the one developed by Daihatsu), have been found to be certified using inadequate data in pedestrian and occupant protection tests. Meanwhile, the other four models (Crown, Isis, Sienta and Lexus RX) found to feature errors in crash tests and other test methods have been discontinued, some since 2014.
The company claimed its internal verifications found no performance issues that fell foul of laws and regulations, hence there being no need to recall the vehicles or for owners to stop using their cars. It has, however, decided to halt shipments and sales of the Corolla Fielder and Axio and the Yaris Cross effective immediately. Details regarding the issue and appropriate measures, including conducting testing in the presence of witnesses, will be provided to the authorities in due course.
For its part, Toyota said it takes the fact that the “irregularities” were found at its own firm seriously, following similar issues at its subsidiaries Daihatsu, Hino and Toyota Industries. The company has taken some steps to “fix” issues at those subsidiaries – including taking Daihatsu off global car development and installing its own chiefs – but it’s clear there are problems within itself too.
Toyota seemed to refer to this in the press release in its mention of the new Toyota Group vision, “inventing our path forward, together,” which it announced in January. The initiative, spearheaded by chairman and former CEO Akio Toyoda, aims to continue the company’s work in producing “ever-better cars” in an on-site environment where employees have authority, a “unique Toyota corporate culture.”
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