Toyota halts sales of 3 cars after submitting faulty data during pedestrian-safety tests

Toyota submitted faulty data during pedestrian-safety tests for three current models — the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross — and used modified test vehicles during collision-safety tests for four past models, including the Crown, the transport ministry said Monday. Toyota was among five carmakers, including Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp., found to have falsified or manipulated safety data while applying for certification. 

“We neglected the certification process and mass produced our cars without first taking the proper precautionary steps,” Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda told reporters Monday. “For that we apologize to our customers and all automotive enthusiasts.”

Toyota said shipment halts will affect two assembly lines responsible for the production of 130,000 units a year. The world’s biggest carmaker made and sold more than 11 millions passenger vehicles in 2023.

Meanwhile, Mazda said it fabricated test results and tampered with the units used for collision testing in five models, including the Mazda2 and Roadster RF, according to a company statement Monday. Irregularities were identified in over 150,000 units the automaker has produced since 2014 for the Japan market.

“We will bear costs incurred to suppliers due to the shipment halts,” Mazda Chief Executive Officer Masahiro Moro said Monday, adding the company would make efforts to prevent the lapses from recurring. The halt is likely to affect 3,500 orders and the carmaker is not considering recalls at this point.

Moro attributed the data issues to employee misinterpretations of unclear procedure manuals, not an “organizational cover-up” or “malicious falsification.”

Crisis of Trust

The ministry also identified 32 previously manufactured vehicles from five carmakers as being incorrectly certified. Officials will perform an on-site investigation of Toyota’s headquarters in Nagoya on Tuesday, the ministry said.

Toyota shares dropped 1.8% in Tokyo. Mazda shares fell 3.3%, while Yamaha Motor Co. retreated 0.6%. Suzuki Motor Corp. closed 1.5% higher after paring earlier gains.

The findings are the latest blow in a deepening crisis of trust for Japan’s automakers. Earlier this year, the transport ministry ordered almost 90 manufacturers to reexamine their testing procedures after decades of fraud were uncovered at a pair of Toyota affiliates.

In December, an internal probe of Daihatsu Motor Co. showed most of its vehicles had not been properly tested for collision safety. Toyota Industries Corp. also suspended all engine shipments in January after an investigation revealed it had falsified power-output figures.

The latest probes follow on from a series of scandals involving the likes of Nissan Motor Co., Mazda and Suzuki stretching back more than a decade, including falsifying emissions and fuel economy data. Air bag maker Takata Corp. filed for bankruptcy in 2017 after one of the world’s most famous recall crises.

Of the 68 cases already concluded in the latest round of investigations, the ministry also found wrongdoings at four other manufacturers: Honda, Mazda, Yamaha Motor and Suzuki. The ministry ordered the five carmakers to suspend shipments of all vehicles with faulty certifications.

The ministry’s probe is ongoing and of the 17 companies still under investigation, Toyota is the only one where issues have been uncovered.