Toyota Motor Corporation announced that it will resume shipments in late February of its Pixis Epoch and Pixis small trucks/vans, which are produced by the group’s small car unit Daihatsu Motor Company.
Daihatsu suspended production and shipments of all models in late December after the extent of its decades-long safety test falsification scandal was revealed by an independent investigation. A number of models have since been cleared by the country’s the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), including also the Daihatsu Grand Max, Toyota Town Ace Van, Mazda Bongo van, Toyota ProBox and Mazda Familia Van. Toyota was already scheduled to resume shipments of the Probox this week.
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In a statement Toyota further apologised to its “customers, suppliers, dealers and other concerned parties for any concern or inconvenience the suspension may have caused”.
The suspension of Daihatsu models has already had a significant impact on the local Japanese market, with the brand’s sales plunging by 63% year-on-year in January, while Toyota’s sales fell by 15% and Mazda’s were 34% lower. The overall vehicle market declined by 12% last month.
Daihatsu submitted to the Ministry of Transport details of the measures it plans to put in place to help prevent the recurrence of similar malpractice at the company, including extending vehicle development times by 40% and sharply increasing the number of personnel involved in safety tests by June. A broader management restructuring plan is expected to be announced later this week.
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