Falsified figures and values – fraud scandal at Toyota, Mazda and other Japanese cars

A fraud scandal in the Japanese car industry is spreading. The Japanese Ministry of Transport stops deliveries after fraudulent figures and values have been submitted. Numerous Japanese manufacturers are said to have manipulated test values.

In Japan, a tangible scandal is brewing in the automotive industry. Almost all major car manufacturers are caught up in the maelstrom of investigations. Not only Toyota, Honda and Mazda have admitted irregularities, smaller brands such as Suzuki or Yamaha are also affected.

• Japanese automakers have manipulated test results and numbers
• Security certificates also affected
• Sales stops for some models

Japan's Ministry of Transport has halted the sale of some models after it became known that data for safety certifications had been falsified.

Fake data for security certificates and more

The scandal originally began at the end of last year after data falsification in more than 50 cases became known at the Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu. As a result, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) had initiated investigations into almost 90 companies.

After the reports were submitted, Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Suzuki and Yamaha have now also had to admit irregularities and falsifications. The ministry has ordered the immediate stop to sales and deliveries of all affected models and announced further inspections and searches at the manufacturers.

Sales and production stops of affected models

At Toyota, there were falsified figures on impact protection and pedestrian protection for 7 model series, and the manufacturer also admitted that there were still reports of irregularities in the emissions test.

Of the 7 model series, only 3 are still in production (Corolla Axio, Corolla Fielder, Yaris Cross), which was then interrupted. Toyota stressed that although the figures and data for the safety certifications were incorrect, the actual crash tests had shown that the vehicles were safe. No recalls have been announced.

Mazda, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha were also cheated. At Mazda, for example, two current models (Roadster RF, Mazda 2) are affected, where values of the engine software are said to have been manipulated. The older Atenza and Axela models were also cheated in the safety tests. There, the airbag triggers did not use the built-in sensor, but a timer for the frontal crash test.

Motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha also stopped production of a sports motorcycle. At Honda, the sound insulation values of 22 models were manipulated. Yamaha also stopped the production of a current model. At both Honda and Suzuki, the offenses are no longer found in current models.