Japanese car manufacturer Daihatsu, a subsidiary of Toyota, announced on Monday the interruption of production at all of its factories in Japan until at least the end of January after a vast scandal of rigged safety tests revealed last week. The Japanese Ministry of Transport launched an inspection last Thursday at the headquarters of Daihatsu, a specialist in mini-vehicles very popular in Japan called “kei cars”, after an independent report which highlighted numerous irregularities in its safety certification processes.
The experts’ report exposed deep-rooted failures in Daihatsu’s production processes, identifying 174 irregularities across 25 test categories, some dating back to 1989. In total, 64 vehicle models are affected, including models manufactured for on behalf of Japanese manufacturers Toyota, Mazda and Subaru. After initially deciding to suspend all of its shipments in Japan and abroad, Daihatsu announced on Monday the interruption of production in its four factories in Japan at least until January 31, in a statement.
Also read: Daihatsu suspends delivery of all its vehicles after falsification of safety tests
This interruption should have major consequences for Daihatsu’s suppliers: according to the research firm Teikoku Databank, more than 8,100 companies in Japan supplying products or services to the manufacturer owe it at least 1% of their turnover. Daihatsu is in negotiations with its suppliers with a view to compensating them, according to sources cited by the Kyodo agency.
Daihatsu produced more than 1.7 million vehicles worldwide in the 2022/23 financial year ended at the end of last March, around half of which were in Japan. It makes most of its sales in the archipelago and in South-East Asia. Founded in 1907 to manufacture internal combustion engines, the company based in Osaka (western Japan) launched its first three-wheeled vehicle in 1931. It has been under the control of Toyota since 1967.
