David de Delgado / Reuters
Hilux pick-up, Land Cruiser 300 4×4, Fortuner and LX500d SUV are among the affected models.
Japanese automobile giant Toyota on Monday announced that it is suspending the delivery of ten models of diesel vehicles manufactured by its subsidiary Toyota Industries due to irregularities identified in the certification of their engines. The group named these ten models but did not specify the sales they represent. Among these attractive vehicles, some of which are sold in both Asia, Europe and the Middle East (but none in North America) are the Hilux pickup, the Land Cruiser 300 4×4, the Fortuner and the LX500d SUV.
It’s a new embarrassment for the world’s number one automobile maker, which has already been embroiled in a massive scandal involving harsh tests by another subsidiary, Daihatsu, whose production has been suspended since December. In March 2023, Toyota Industries had already announced that there had been irregularities in certifications related to emissions of forklifts and construction equipment, one of its core businesses, which led to a recall of the affected products in Japan.
An independent investigation has now confirmed that three diesel engines manufactured by Toyota Industries for automobiles were also affected by the same type of irregularity. During the certification tests, the power of the three diesel engines in question was measured separately from the software used for their mass production, so there were “smaller variations” in the values obtained for their certifications, Toyota explained in a communication. Toyota at the same time assures that the affected engines and vehicles “meet performance standards” and therefore do not need to stop using them.
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“temporarily”
However, Toyota Industries on Monday decided to “temporarily” stop shipments of the affected engines and Toyota models equipped with these engines. “We recognize the seriousness of the fact that repeated certification irregularities at TICO (Toyota Industries Corporation, Editor’s Note), Daihatsu, have shaken the company’s foundation as an automobile manufacturer,” Toyota said in its press release. .
The group promised to provide a “detailed explanation” to the Japanese authorities regarding the new scandal and to take “appropriate” action quickly. The new scandal did not prevent Toyota shares from rising significantly on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (+3.14%) on Monday. On the other hand, Toyota Industries fell 4%.
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