On January 30, 2024, a sign was hung outside a Toyota Motor Corporation dealership in Tokyo, Japan.
Tomohiro Ohsumi | Yoshinori Ohsumi Getty Images News | Getty Images
The Japanese government ordered Toyota Automotive A “radical overhaul” of the automaker’s vehicle homologation process will be carried out on Wednesday after new irregularities were discovered.
In the so-called corrective order, the Department of Transportation said on-site inspections uncovered widespread willful misconduct and violations in seven additional vehicle models that had not previously been disclosed.
Toyota said the correction order directed it to “make significant changes to ensure proper certification operations.”
The automaker added that it was confirming whether the models in question met the requirements and that customers did not need to stop using the affected vehicles.
Earlier this month, Toyota said could not find it Are there any new cases of misconduct in vehicle model certification applications other than those already reported in June.
Toyota and four other automakers admitted in June that they submitted flawed or manipulated data when applying for vehicle certification.
Toyota’s misconduct involves three production models – the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross – as well as discontinued versions of four other models, including one sold under the luxury Lexus brand.
Toyota said it plans to resume production of these models from early September after the Ministry of Transportation confirms that they meet compliance requirements.
The Japanese automaker’s investigation comes after Japan’s Transport Ministry ordered an industry-wide review of certification practices following a safety testing scandal at Toyota’s Daihatsu compact car unit.
The ministry said six of the other seven Toyota models with violations were also certified in other countries and that the issues had been notified to overseas authorities.
Four other models – minivans sold as the Noah and Voxy, as well as the RAV4, Harrier and Lexus LM – are still produced by Toyota, while three of the models are no longer produced.
