If you’re a Toyota fan, it’s worth paying attention to recent news regarding a very public PR setback for three of the manufacturer’s most popular cars.
Aki Toyoda, chairman of the Japanese car giant, recently apologized publicly for the company’s reported “cheating” on certain certification tests for up to seven of its vehicle models. The company reportedly provided incorrect data, specifically during pedestrian safety testing – not a great look!
During ongoing investigations into data falsification across the car manufacturing industry, disclosures from five companies covered 38 different models. Six of those models are currently on the market, three of which are from Toyota.
Other manufacturers involved in the scandal include Mazda, Yamaha, and Suzuki – and will be subject to inspections in the foreseeable future.
For Mazda, the shipments are currently suspended for their Roadster RF and Mazda 2 models.
Yamaha has also disclosed that testing irregularities occurred on their YZF-R1 sports motorcycle.
Honda, meanwhile, readily admitted to faulty testing on an astonishing 22 of their models! However, all of the models involved have already been discontinued.
The models whose shipments have been halted for Toyota include the Toyota Corolla Fielder, the Yaris Cross, and the Corolla Axio models.
In some of the uncovered faulty tests, it has been revealed that certain engineers made the testing conditions even more severe than they were required to by law. They did so to ensure the models’ safety. Therefore, it’s not necessarily a case of the manufacturers rushing vehicles out for the sake of doing so!
Toyota’s engineers also used an 1,800 kg cart to test the risk of potential fuel leakage, specifically in the event of a rear-end crash on the car. Legally, manufacturing standards only demand the use of a 1,100 kg cart,
Therefore, while the scandal will likely bring higher scrutiny to the car manufacturers in question and others, it has also helped reignite an important conversation about the current testing regulations.
In some cases, perhaps regulators should heed the car companies’ “wisdom” and create even more stringent rules for their safety tests! There’s a strong argument that you can never be too careful when it comes to driver and passenger safety, and big companies like Toyota have a lot of professional face to try and maintain.
That being said, this is not the first scandal Toyota has faced this year. Only back in January, the company was under scrutiny and forced to cease shipments of certain models due to certification irregularities in engines supplied. Therefore, 2024 has hardly been a year of wins for the firm thus far – but will this PR firestorm really be enough to drive down the company’s popularity?
We seriously doubt it – but on the other hand, we can expect the company will be under the microscope for quite some time now.
At the very least, this latest Toyota scandal may help to make safety tests more efficient and more stringent for all manufacturers in the years to come. That’s got to be a good thing!