Toyota Motor Corp. will suspend shipments of 10 vehicle models after supplier Toyota Industries Corp. It will reveal certification issues with certain diesel engines.
An investigative committee has uncovered irregularities in force tests that took measurements based on PC modules running software that ultimately differed from the software used for mass production, the Japanese automaker said on Monday. This resulted in values with less variation, he said.
The certification issue is the latest blow to beset Toyota, following an announcement by subsidiary Daihatsu Motor Co. last month that most of its vehicles weren’t properly tested for collision safety and that the automaker manipulated the results of tests dating as far back as 1989. As a result, Daihatsu is halting shipments and suspending operations through at least February.
“To move forward as a group, you need to have a control formula that values the voice of the staff on the ground,” said Toyota CEO Koji Sato, admitting that knowledge production is a challenge at the automaker’s subsidiaries and that there are communication challenges.
Toyota will without delay halt production of the affected models in Japan and halt production of the affected models from Tuesday, Sato said, with production expected to restart depending on each country.
“As the automotive industry goes through a change that happens every 100 years, we want to think about how to deal with new demanding situations and new technologies,” he said.
These moments of misconduct “could harm Toyota Industries and, by extension, the Toyota Group as a whole,” said Tatsuo Yoshida, senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
The commission in the Toyota Industries case discovered irregularities in the strength tests of three engine models. According to the company, a total of 10 car models use these engines worldwide. These come with the Land Cruiser Prado, Land Cruiser 300, Fortuner, and Hilux.
The committee first investigated Toyota Industries in relation to certification similar to engines used in forklifts. The latest findings were obtained after the research was extended to the structure of machinery engines and then to diesel engines for automobiles.
The irregularities occurred “because of a delay in mass production,” Hiroshi Inoue, chairman of the special investigative committee, said at a separate news conference on Monday, adding that “the duty lies with senior management. “
Toyota Industries President Koichi Ito said “we weren’t communicating enough with Toyota Motor regarding the test process” after orders increased from 2017. He said he’ll seek to rebuild communications with the parent company. The impact of the scandal on earnings is currently unknown, Ito added.
Japan’s transport ministry will start on-site inspections on Tuesday.
“Going forward, we will be involved in all company-wide activities to rebuild Toyota Industries and review the situation to ensure that protection and quality are the most sensible priorities,” Toyota said in a statement.
As scandals at Toyota continue to pile up — Japanese truck maker Hino Motors Ltd. , another Toyota subsidiary, said in August that it had discovered its vehicles’ emissions data was falsified — Sato said the challenge of understanding and complying with certification is not unusual.