Probe into engine tests

The chairman of Toyota has apologised for mistakes and wrongdoings by company owned by the global group.

Japan’s transport ministry conducted an on-site inspection of Toyota Industries’ plant in Aichi prefecture on January 30 after the company halted shipments of 10 models, including the Land Cruiser, the day before because of a fresh scandal over fraudulent engine tests by the company, which supplies engines for the marque’s vehicles.

The ministry is expected to consider imposing administrative penalties on Toyota Industries, including revoking the certificate needed to mass-produce vehicles.

It will now “carry out an extensive investigation, including from the perspective of whether there are problems regarding corporate governance,” transport minister Tetsuo Saito told a news conference on January 30.

A panel of outside experts that investigated the issue have stated in a report that the company rigged emissions performance tests in more cases than the four originally identified — an additional six types of forklift engines and two types of construction machinery engines, as well as three types of car engines.

In a news conference Toyota’s chairman, Akio Toyoda, pictured, apologised for the series of scandals and has vowed to reform the group’s companies.

“I will be leading the transformation efforts as the person responsible for the group.”

Toyota also unveiled a new vision for the group, which is “inventing our path forward, together”, reports The Japan Times, Click Here.

“What I must do right now is show the direction that the group should go in and create a place for the next generation to return to if they falter.”

 

The scandal by Toyota Industries follows malpractice by Daihatsu, another Toyota group company, which has been in the spotlight for several months.

Last April, it was found that Daihatsu had wrongly conducted side-collision safety tests for 88,000 small cars to be sold overseas. Many of those cars were sold under the Toyota brand.

In December, Daihatsu was forced to suspend shipments of vehicles after more instances of misconduct came to light, but this week the transport ministry allowed it to resume shipments of 10 models, following the lifting of a ban on shipments of five other models earlier this month.

In 2022, Toyota’s truck and bus unit Hino Motors was also hit by an engine-data scandal, in which the manufacturer had falsified data for some engines since 2003, affecting 640,000 vehicles.