Photo/Illutration Transport ministry officials enter the Daihatsu Motor Co. headquarters in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on Dec. 21 for an inspection. (Nobuhiro Shirai)

IKEDA, Osaka Prefecture--Transport ministry officials searched the Daihatsu Motor Co. headquarters here on Dec. 21 following an admission of widespread falsification of vehicle safety tests at the automaker.

The Toyota Motor Corp. subsidiary could face penalties and recall orders depending on the findings of the investigation.

The government inspection comes a day after the company admitted to 174 cases of misconduct with safety tests for most vehicles currently in production as well as some discontinued models.

“The ultimate responsibility lies with the management,” said Daihatsu President Soichiro Okudaira at a news conference on Dec. 20, although he declined to step down immediately.

A third-party investigative team suggested that intense pressure placed on the company’s engineers to produce favorable results led to the test rigging.

“We should have been aware of what was going on,” said Toyota Vice President Hiroki Nakajima, who was also in attendance. 

The ministry ordered Daihatsu on Dec. 20 to halt shipments of all vehicles until they are confirmed safe.

This includes 16 domestic models and seven overseas models manufactured by Daihatsu for other brands such as Toyota, Mazda Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp.

Ministry officials are inspecting all 28 models Daihatsu manufactures for the Japanese market for compliance with safety standards.

Okudaira said the company’s own inspections found no significant safety concerns with affected vehicles, suggesting that customers can continue driving them.

However, he reported possible safety issues with the air bags of two models: the Toyota Pixis Joy and the Daihatsu Cast.

The two models’ doors will automatically lock after their air bags inflate, potentially hindering rescue efforts of the vehicles' occupants. 

Okudaira emphasized that the issue is unrelated to recent reports of falsified safety tests.

The ministry will determine whether the two models should be recalled.

Daihatsu has a 30 percent share of the domestic market for “kei” minivehicles, including popular models such as the Pixis Joy and Cast. The automaker sold 1.7 million vehicles worldwide in fiscal 2022.

(This article was compiled from reports by staff writers Kenta Nakamura and Kohei Kondo.)

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