Daihatsu halts all production in Japan amid safety test scandal

 

Japanese automaker Daihatsu Motor suspended all domestic production on Tuesday amid a scandal over its safety test falsification, reported Xinhua.

The carmaker on Tuesday halted operations at its factory in Osaka Prefecture after shutting down three other plants in Shiga, Kyoto, and Oita prefectures the previous day, bringing domestic production to a complete halt.

The four factories are expected to remain suspended at least until the end of January next year, Daihatsu said Monday, promising to compensate all the companies it directly supplies.

Daihatsu announced last week that an investigation found 174 new cases of misconduct regarding the safety testing of new vehicles involving 64 models.

In April, the carmaker acknowledged data-rigging in collision tests for six of its models, including those sold in overseas markets of Thailand and Malaysia.

It was discovered in May that the company had improperly obtained government certification for hybrid vehicles for the Japanese market as well. 

- Bernama