Earlier today, Daihatsu announced that it will temporarily suspend shipments of all vehicles it developed that are currently being produced in Japan and overseas markets. This comes after the automaker submitted a report by an independent panel to Japanese authorities.
The independent panel had been investigating a scandal over the rigging of safety tests by Daihatsu, which was brought to light in April this year. At the time, the company admitted “wrongdoings” in particular crash safety tests done for regulatory approval applications for four models. Over 88,000 units were affected, with the focus point being door trim that did not meet safety standards in a side impact test.
In today’s press release (translated from Japanese), DMC said, “as a result of the investigation, in addition to the door trim fraud in April and the pole side collision test fraud in May, it was discovered that there were 174 new irregularities in 25 test items.”
The company confirmed that 64 models and three engines are affected, including those currently in production or development as well as discontinued ones. The range of affected models cover those sold under the Daihatsu brand and those supplied on an OEM basis to Toyota, Mazda and Subaru.
The model list also had several Perodua cars, namely the first- and second-generation Axia, Aruz, second-generation Alza, Ativa, Myvi and Bezza. Toyota models listed were the Rush, Yaris, Vios and Veloz.
Now, Perodua has released a statement by president and CEO Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad on the matter, and it is reproduced verbatim below.
Pursuant to Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.’s (DMC) announcement today on the suspension of its models due to its “procedural irregularities”.
Perodua’s statement is issued as a response to the third-party committee’s report on the “procedural irregularities” done by DMC when conducting safety tests on vehicles for various OEMs issued earlier today.
The third-party committee report, confirmed by DMC said: “these verifications and tests confirmed that all 174 irregularities pointed out by the third-party committee satisfied the standards set by laws and regulations”.
We are doing a detailed assessment on the matter and are currently in discussion with Malaysian authorities as to the impact of this development to our vehicles.
As background, on 28th April 2023, DMC announced of “procedural irregularities” when conducting safety tests on vehicles in Japan. Following that announcement, DMC has established a third-party investigative committee consisting of lawyers and technical personnel.
We sincerely apologise to our valued customers and the general public for any alarm this announcement may bring. Our intent is to reach out and assure our valued customers.
We will share the outcome of this discussion with the public in due course.
Basically, P2 highlights that the 174 irregularities pointed out by the third-party committee satisfied the standards set by laws and regulations. The company is doing a detailed assessment on the matter and is currently in discussion with Malaysian authorities, and will share the outcome later.
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