(This story has been corrected to remove the word “security” in paragraph 2 to make it clear that the testing issues at issue are not just security related)
Daniel Leussink
TOKYO (Reuters) – A safety testing scandal among Japanese automakers widened on Monday. Toyota Motor (NYSE:) and Mazda stopped delivering some vehicles after Japan’s Transportation Ministry found irregularities in certification applications for certain models.
Violations were also found in statements Honda (NYSE:), Suzuki and Yamaha Motor, the ministry said. Automakers were found to have submitted incorrect or fraudulent test data when applying for vehicle certification.
The ministry ordered Toyota, Mazda and Yamaha to suspend deliveries of some vehicles. The company said it would conduct an on-site inspection at Toyota’s central headquarters in Aichi Prefecture on Tuesday.
The latest revelations come after the ministry asked automakers in late January to investigate certification applications following a safety testing scandal at Toyota’s Daihatsu compact car unit that erupted last year.
Monday’s events are also likely to heighten attention on Toyota’s annual general meeting later this month. Influential consulting firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis recommended shareholders vote against the re-election of Akio Toyoda as chairman at the meeting.
In a report to shareholders, ISS noted a “wave of certification violations” at the Toyota Group.
“As the person in charge of the Toyota Group, I would like to sincerely apologize for this to our customers, car enthusiasts and all stakeholders,” Toyoda, the grandson of the automaker’s founder and former CEO, said at a news conference. .
He said the vehicles were not properly certified before being sold. The world’s largest automaker by volume said it had temporarily suspended deliveries and sales of three vehicle models made in Japan.
The automaker scandals are proving to be a sore point for the government, which has otherwise won praise from investors and executives for its corporate reforms. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s chief government spokesman, called the misconduct “regrettable.”
STOCKS ARE FALLING
Toyota said the violations occurred during six different tests conducted in 2014, 2015 and 2020. The affected vehicles were three production models – the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross – as well as discontinued versions of four popular models, including one sold under the Lexus Luxury brand. brand.
In one example, he measured crash damage on one side of a model’s hood when it needed to be done on both sides.
In other cases, the company said it carried out certain tests by testing the design under more stringent conditions than those set by the ministry and which did not meet government requirements.
Toyota said it is still investigating issues related to vehicle fuel efficiency and emissions and aims to complete that investigation by the end of June.
The company added that there were no performance issues that violated the rules and customers do not need to stop using their cars.
Toyota shares closed 1.8% lower, lagging the broad index’s 0.9% rise.
Mazda suspended deliveries of its Roadster RF sports car and Mazda2 hatchback from Thursday last week after discovering that workers had altered engine management software test results, the company said in a statement.
It was also revealed that crash tests of the Atenza and Axela models, which are no longer in production, were rigged by using a timer to deploy the airbags during some frontal crash tests rather than relying on the onboard sensor to detect the impact. .
Mazda shares fell 3.3%.
Yamaha said it had stopped supplying the sport bikes.
Honda said it found violations in noise and power tests over a period of more than eight years (through October 2017) on about two dozen models that are no longer in production.
(This story has been corrected to remove the word “security” in paragraph 2 to make it clear that the testing issues at issue are not just security related)