Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda on Monday apologized for its small-car subsidiary Daihatsu Motor Co.'s improper vehicle testing that has affected models sold in Southeast Asia and other markets.
"It was a practice that should have never occurred," Toyoda said at a press conference held in Bangkok. "The (Toyota) group as a whole will do its utmost to regain trust," he said, pledging to spearhead efforts to address the problem.
Daihatsu said last month front door cards of four models for overseas markets, including Yaris that it makes for Toyota, were "improperly modified" in side collision tests. About 88,000 units passed the test with such modification, many of which were sold in Thailand and Malaysia, it said.
Daihatsu's rigging of the crash test, discovered after a report by a whistleblower, comes after Toyota's truck arm Hino Motors Ltd. last year admitted to engine data falsification and Toyota Industries Corp. revealed in March improper inspections of its forklift engines.
The four Daihatsu-made models in question are Toyota Yaris ATIV, Toyota Agya, Axia produced for Malaysian automaker Perodua, and one unnamed model still in development.
About 76,000 affected Yaris units were sold in Thailand and the Middle East, among other markets, according to Daihatsu.
Among the four models, "We have confirmed the safety and quality of Yaris and can assure our customers that it is safe to drive," Toyoda said.
Toyota Agya was scheduled to be sold in Ecuador.
