Toyota admits rigging Daihatsu crash test for better results

Daihatsu admitted to rigging Toyota Yaris Ativ, Perodua Axia, Toyota Agya, and an undisclosed upcoming product. to perform better in crash tests.

During side-impact crash testing, these vehicles had a notch in the interior panel of the front door to avoid creating a sharp edge during a collision that could have injured an occupant when the side airbag was deployed. But the models that went on sale didn't have the notch.

Daihatsu, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, said it sold 88,123 examples of these models.

It shipped 76,289 Toyota Yaris Ativ models to Thailand, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman—all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. 11,834 Perodua Axias were also sold by the automaker in Thailand.

There aren't any Toyota Agyas in the hands of customers yet because production won't start until June 2023.

These vehicles' development and safety testing were undertaken by Daihatsu. After that, Toyota labeled them as its own goods.

According to Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda, as the problem occurred with a Toyota brand passenger car, they believe it s not limited to Daihatsu.

He added that We will begin by conducting a detailed investigation and thoroughly collecting facts to understand the situation, determine the true cause, and work diligently to prevent a recurrence.

Toyoda also vowed to inform the public in a timely manner what they learned through our investigations," said

The carmaker said it's not clear who decided to cut the notch into several vehicles during crash testing and doesn't know how many people knew this was happening before the whistleblower came forward.

Daihatsu is stopping sales of these vehicles. It will re-test them with inspection and certification authorities present.