Fraud Cases of Five Japanese Car Manufacturers including Toyota and Honda, etc.: Reputation Damaged!

On June 3, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that due to repeated violations in the process of obtaining model certification required for mass production of vehicles and engines by companies such as Daihatsu Industries, the Ministry instructed a total of 85 automobile manufacturing companies to investigate whether similar violations have occurred. By the end of May, Toyota, Mazda, Yamaha, Honda, and Suzuki, collectively five companies, had exhibited improper conduct in vehicle performance testing and other related activities.

On the day the news was released, Japanese car companies responded in succession, calculating the number of affected vehicles. Honda released information stating that since 2009 there had been inappropriate actions in vehicle noise testing, engine testing, and other areas, affecting approximately 4.35 million units. Toyota announced that as of the end of April this year, the total number of vehicles involved in their testing violations was around 1.7 million. Reports have shown that the fraudulent activities of Toyota, Mazda, and Yamaha involve some of their currently selling models and discontinued models. As for Honda and Suzuki, only involve discontinued models.

The current Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport has instructed the relevant car manufacturers to handle the violations and initiate remedial work for consumers, including directing Toyota, Mazda, and Yamaha, among other companies, to temporarily halt the shipment of some cars and motorcycles currently in production, and requiring pertinent companies to provide detailed explanations to consumers. In addition, serious consequences will be enforced in the future combined with on-site inspections and relevant results on the basis of relevent regulations.

On the same day, top executives from Toyota, Honda, and Mazda held press conferences respectively to apologize to consumers.

Japanese car manufacturing is renowned for its "craftsmanship", but in recent years, frequent quality issues have raised concerns about the credibility of Japanese manufacturing. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimitsu Kono stated at a press conference that "this has damaged the reputation of our country’s automobile industry". The Japanese government is now actively participating in the ASEAN temporary strategic alliance, hoping for the sales of Japanese cars in ASEAN to maintain a solid position. This incident might affect consumers' brand impression of Japanese car companies. Moreover, this incident exposed the flaws in the car testing and certification system, and it is hoped that relevant departments will strengthen supervision and improve relevant regulations.