Japanese Carmaker Safety Scandal: Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and Others Implicated

The Japanese carmaker safety scandal story hit earlier this week revealing that five carmakers in Japan had falsified safety tests or manipulated data when they applied for certification of some of their vehicles.

Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Suzuki, and Yamaha were named in the report which was revealed by the Japanese transport ministry.

The Ministry has since raided the headquarters of motor giant Toyota on Tuesday, as the scandal over faulty safety data escalated.

Toyota has apologised for the affair and states that the findings do not affect the safety of vehicles already on the road.

That said, the company has suspended the production of three car models: the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio, and Yaris Cross.

Japanese carmakers Honda, Mazda and Suzuki are also due to be inspected by the authorities over the same issue.

Honda said it found wrongdoing on tests related to noise and engine power, but it has stressed that its vehicles are safe to drive.

Mazda has halted the shipments of some cars and said it will bear the cost to its suppliers.

However, the company added that it is not planning on issuing recalls.

The findings also apply to one Suzuki car model that is no longer being produced.

Finally, Yamaha said it had halted shipments of a sports motorcycle.

The news comes in light of a similar scandal with Daihatsu and its offices being raided as well and operations turned over to parent company Toyota.

Is this signifying a turn for the integrity of Japanese automakers or is this just the cost of doing business in the highly competitive automotive space?

Can the industry take another Japanese carmaker safety scandal? One thing’s for sure, EV makers and apologists will be all over this story soon.