Daihatsu halts shipments of all vehicles after falsifying safety tests

Dec 21, 2023 | News On Japan

OSAKA - Daihatsu has announced a complete halt in shipments of all its cars following the discovery of fraudulent safety tests.

Daihatsu is a major manufacturers of compact cars such as 'Tanto' and 'Move', with approximately 30% market share in the light vehicle segment.

At a press conference held on Wednesday, the company's executives, including President Soichiro Okudaira, bowed their heads for seven seconds in apology.

President Okudaira commented, "We have committed fraud that cannot be overlooked concerning certification. The management is responsible for creating an environment that led to such actions. As an automobile manufacturer, this shakes the very foundation of our business, and we take it very seriously."

Since April 2023, Daihatsu has been continuously discovering fraudulent activities in certification tests. Further investigation by a third-party committee revealed 174 fraudulent acts across 25 different test items.

One example of the reported fraud was falsifying test results for headrest impact tests, where the passenger seat test results were incorrectly recorded as the driver seat's results.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism announced that they would conduct an inspection at Daihatsu's headquarters in Osaka on Dec 21.

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