Following a series of safety scandals, Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation specializing in the production of mini-vehicles, announced on the 25th that it would compensate 423 domestic suppliers with whom it has direct business relationships.
Daihatsu stated it would consider compensating suppliers based on past business volumes. Additionally, the company plans to collaborate with major suppliers to address the consequences of the scandal and may assist smaller subcontractors who do not receive compensation by helping them access support funds from the industrial sector.
This decision comes after the company halted production due to regulatory violations, including the falsification of safety crash test data. On December 20, Daihatsu issued a statement admitting to 174 instances of misconduct discovered in the latest investigation, involving vehicles produced under contract for Toyota and Mazda.
The misconduct included falsifying safety crash test data, leading to the immediate suspension of shipments for all vehicle models currently in production, both domestically and internationally. Reports indicate that the affected models include the Toyota Yaris Ativ, Perodua Axia, Toyota Agya, and an undisclosed product, with total sales exceeding 88,000 units.
Following these revelations, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism conducted an on-site inspection at Daihatsu on the 21st in response to the serious safety issues. According to a report by Asahi News, an investigation by a third-party committee found that most of the vehicle models currently produced by Daihatsu have similar issues.
Toyota Motor Corporation's Chairman, Akio Toyoda, stated that the group would start with a detailed investigation and comprehensive fact-finding to prevent such incidents from recurring and would promptly disclose the investigation results to the public. Toyoda emphasized that betraying customer trust is absolutely unacceptable.
In response to these events, Daihatsu has temporarily suspended production in Japan until the end of next month and is assessing the impact of the production halt on its extensive supplier network.
In April of this year, a whistleblower within Daihatsu reported to the supervisory department about the falsified tests. Subsequently, in May, Daihatsu announced that four of its vehicle models had been involved in irregularities during side-impact crash tests.
At that time, Daihatsu stated it had stopped selling these vehicles and immediately reported to the inspection and certification authorities. The company also said it would replace parts and retest the side-impact performance in the presence of inspection and certification authorities before resuming shipments.
Daihatsu's overseas operations focus on Southeast Asia. The company mentioned that its subsidiary in Indonesia, PT Astra Daihatsu Motor, resumed shipments last Friday and has restarted production of Perodua brand cars at two factories operated in a joint venture with Malaysian carmaker Perodua.
Following Daihatsu's announcement on December 20, Suzuki Motor Corporation, another company specializing in mini-vehicles, saw its stock price rise due to the safety scandal at Daihatsu. As of the close on the 25th, Suzuki's stock price had risen over 7% compared to the 20th.
