AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)08/07 Report--

Due to certification violations and factory shutdowns, Daihatsu reported an operating loss of 5 billion yen in fiscal year 2023 (April 2023 to March 2024), the first loss since fiscal 1992, Xinhua reported. In fiscal year 2023, sales of Dafa Industries were 1.181 trillion yen, down 21% from the same period last year. During the reporting period, sales of Dafa cars were 440000, down 22% from the same period last year. Affected by this, the company's light vehicle market share in Japan was surpassed by Suzuki for the first time in 18 years.

In April 2023, Dafa admitted fraud in side crash safety tests on 88000 vehicles. At the end of the same year, a third-party committee investigating quality violations of Dafa cars issued a report saying that quality violations were extended to almost all models, including vehicles of other brands, such as Toyota.

In December 2023, Dafa Motor, a subsidiary of Toyota Group, released a 162-page third-party investigation report. After investigation, four models developed by Dafa Motor to overseas markets (Toyota Yaris Ativ, Perodua Axia, Toyota Agya and an undisclosed product) were fraudulent in the crash test. A total of 88123 of these models were sold, mainly to Thailand, Mexico, Ecuador and the Middle East. At that time, Toyota Group Chairman Akio Toyoda publicly bowed and apologized, saying that "this is absolutely unacceptable behavior that betrays the trust of customers. The group will start with detailed investigation and comprehensive collection of facts, and strive to prevent such incidents from happening again." and make the results of the investigation public in a timely manner. " To this end, Dafa suspended production activities in Japan until the end of January this year.

It is precisely because of the excessive impact of Dafa counterfeiting that the Japanese government has decided to conduct a systematic investigation into similar incidents among car companies. In January this year, Daihatsu received a rectification order from Japan's Ministry of Land, Transport and revoked the production licenses of three models. At the same time, Dafa is required to take measures to prevent such incidents from happening again. To this end, Dafa President Aoheichiro and Chairman Matsumi Chun also stepped down in March.

However, just six months later, Akio Toyoda came out to apologize, and the situation is even more serious. This time, Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Mazda have all been notified by the government of fraud in car performance tests, involving 38 models with a scale of more than 5 million. Due to the far-reaching impact, Toyota, Honda and Mazda held press conferences respectively after the announcement, and the leaders bowed and apologized to the public about the incident.

In the biggest scandal in Japanese car history, a number of models have stopped production and shipments and will be a direct drag on Japan's GDP. Cars are Japan's important business card in the world, and it is also the largest pillar of Japan's economy, accounting for 40% of industrial output and 8% of Japan's total economic output. It is worth mentioning that the current government investigation into fraud by Japanese companies is continuing, and the scale of fraud may continue to expand. It is understood that of the 85 enterprises required by Japan's Ministry of Land and Transport to conduct an internal investigation into violations, 68 have completed the investigation by the end of May, and 17 enterprises, including Toyota, are continuing the investigation.

After the incident, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said in a statement that it would take the issue seriously: "this is a fundamental issue that affects customer safety in automobile manufacturing." this is an event that should not have happened. in the future, we will thoroughly promote the resolution of fraud in certification applications under the guidance of the authorities, and trust will be restored through industry-wide efforts. "

Bowing may be the attitude of these companies to express their apologies, but in the face of serious problems such as test fraud, companies can't just have an attitude. Industry insiders said that the counterfeiting of Japanese automakers may be just the tip of the iceberg. In the context of stock competition in the global automobile industry, the internal volume between manufacturers of various countries has reached the extreme. Japanese officials may also choose "self-exposure" to minimize the impact. Chinese automakers should not be cynical, should take it as a warning, while speeding up going to sea, control the quality control in order to achieve a stable and far future.

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