Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman Akio Toyoda bows at a press conference in Tokyo on June 3, 2024. Toyota said on June 3, 2024, Toyota has suspended domestic shipments of three car models after violating government certification rules along with Japanese rivals Honda, Mazda, Suzuki and Yamaha .
Yuichi Yamazaki Afp | Getty Images
Shares of Japanese carmakers have generally fallen since the country’s transport ministry discovered fake data used to certify certain models a week ago on Monday.
Shares of Japan’s biggest carmaker Toyota fell more than 5.4% last week, after the scandal broke on June 3, but recovered on Monday. The automaker lost 2.45 trillion Japanese yen ($15.62 billion) in market value last week.
Share from Mazdathe country’s second-largest automaker, fell 7.7% over the same period, and lost 80.33 billion yen, or $511.8 million in market capitalization last week.
Extensive inspections by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism also found irregularities in certification applications by other car manufacturers Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.
last week, Honda’Stocks down 5.75%, Yamaha Motor District lost 2.2%, while Suzuki Motor District inch down 0.3%.
Shares of all those companies traded higher on Monday. Toyota rose 1.7%, Honda gained 2.13% and Mazda gained 1.7%. Suzuki and Yamaha are also slightly higher.
The five companies submitted falsified test data, or in the case of Toyota and Mazda, falsified the vehicles used in the crash tests.
Toyota announced on June 3, following the ministry’s investigation report, that it will temporarily stop shipping and sales of three models currently produced in Japan, the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio, and Yaris Cross.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda apologized to the company’s customers and stakeholders, admitting that the seven models were “tested using methods that differ from the standards set by national authorities.”
Separately, Mazda said it had delayed the Roadster RF and Mazda 2 from May 30.
Both companies say customers can still drive their cars.
The transport ministry said it would conduct on-site inspections of the five companies reported to have committed wrongdoing.
The inspection into the Japanese carmaker comes after Toyota’s Daihatsu unit said in December it would stop shipping all vehicles overseas and in Japan. This comes after an investigation into the safety scandal found problems in some 64 models, including 22 sold under the Toyota brand.
Daihatsu said in April last year it had rigged side collision safety tests carried out for 88,000 small cars, most of which were sold under the Toyota brand.
