Automobile: Toyota and four other manufacturers have been pinned down in a cheating-testing scandal

Toyota and four other Japanese automobile or two-wheeler manufacturers (Honda, Suzuki, Mazda and Yamaha) cheated in certification tests for some of their models in Japan, Japan's transport ministry announced on Monday.

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The affair is reminiscent of what has already rocked mini-car maker Daihatsu, a Toyota subsidiary, from late 2023. Daihatsu was forced to halt all of its production in Japan and has only been able to fully restart since last month.

Following the scandal, the transport ministry in January asked 85 other auto companies operating in Japan to verify whether their certification practices met national standards, and said five of them had reported cases of fraud.

The Ministry of Transport has ordered these five manufacturers to suspend deliveries of their affected models until its services verify their compliance with certification tests, after inspecting their production sites.

The ministry commented in a press release after the Daihatsu case that “fraudulent practices associated with model certification applications undermine consumer confidence and further misidentify the vehicle certification system as it shakes the foundation of the vehicle certification system.”

Based on preliminary results of its internal investigation, Toyota found seven of its models not produced in Japan were “tested using methods different from government standards,” the auto giant said in a Monday press release.

Certification applications for these models include “insufficient data” in pedestrian and driver protection tests or “errors” in crash tests, the group said, not using the term “fraud” as the ministry does.

“There are no performance issues contrary to laws and regulations. Therefore, there is no need to stop using the affected vehicles,” Toyota said.

However, the group has complied with the ministry's order by suspending sales and deliveries in Japan, and three models currently being produced in the country: its Corolla Fielder station wagon, Corolla Axio sedan and its Yaris Cross compact SUV.