After its Daihatsu subsidiary, it is Toyota’s turn to suffer a problem related to the testing of certain engines. This Monday, the Japanese group announced that it was suspending deliveries of ten models of diesel vehicles, due to irregularities identified in the certification of its engines, produced by its subsidiary Toyota Industries.
Ten affected models
And among the models whose marketing is suspended are certain emblematic models: the Hilux pick-up, the Land Cruiser 300 4×4, the Fortuner and LX500d SUVs from the luxury brand Lexus. Deliveries are suspended in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, but not in North America. Toyota has not detailed the impact of this suspension of deliveries on its sales volumes. But the group told AFP that the accumulated production of nine of the ten models in question amounts to 36,500 units per month worldwide. One model has stopped production.
Three diesel engines affected
This is a new embarrassing matter for the world’s leading automobile manufacturer, already involved in a major scandal of rigged tests by another of its subsidiaries, Daihatsu, whose production has been suspended since December. In March 2023, Toyota Industries had already announced that irregularities had been committed in the emissions certifications of its forklifts and construction equipment, one of its main businesses, leading to a recall of the affected products in Japan.
An independent report initiated by Toyota Industries and submitted to the Japanese Ministry of Transport on Monday now confirms that three diesel engines manufactured by this company for automobiles were also affected by irregularities of the same type. During the certification tests, the power of the three diesel engines in question was measured using software different from that used for their series production, so that the values obtained for their certifications had “fewer variations,” explains Toyota in a statement.
At the same time, Toyota guarantees that the engines and vehicles in question “meet performance standards” and that, therefore, there is no need to stop using them. However, at the request of the Ministry of Transportation, Toyota Industries on Monday “temporarily” stopped shipments of the affected engines and, therefore, Toyota those of vehicle models equipped with these engines.
Toyota will take appropriate measures
“We recognize the seriousness of the fact that the repeated irregularities in the certification of TICO (Toyota Industries Corporation, editor’s note), following those of Daihatsu, have shaken the very foundations of the company as an automobile manufacturer,” Toyota said in its statement. .
The group promised to give “detailed explanations” to the Japanese authorities about this new scandal and to quickly take “appropriate” measures.
The Japanese Ministry of Transport has indicated that it will carry out its own inspection of Toyota Industries to verify the facts of the independent report and ensure that standards will now be respected. This new scandal did not prevent Toyota shares from rising sharply on Monday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (+3.14%). That of Toyota Industries, on the other hand, fell 4%.
Source: BFM TV
