Toyota Motor Corporation announced on June 6 that it will suspend production of three models, the "Yaris Cross," "Corolla Fielder," and "Corolla Axio," due to irregularities in type designation certification required for vehicle production. Production will be suspended at least until the end of this month when the ongoing investigation is completed. After that, production will be reviewed for resumption once the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism lifts its shipping suspension order. The three models subject to production suspension have an annual production volume of about 130,000 units and are produced by Toyota Motor East Japan, a subsidiary, at two plants in Ohhira-mura, Miyagi Prefecture and Kanegasaki-machi, Iwate Prefecture. The Yaris Cross is a small SUV mainly sold in the Japanese domestic market and is also sold in some overseas markets. The other two models were found to have irregularities in the collision pedestrian head injury confirmation item.

This incident follows a series of certification irregularities that have occurred since 2022, including Hino Motors, Toyota Auto Body, and Daihatsu Industry, prompting the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to instruct each company to investigate whether there are any similar cases. As a result, five companies, including Toyota Motor, Mazda, Yamaha Motor, Honda, and Suzuki, reported that they had engaged in irregularities in vehicle performance tests.

In the case of Toyota, irregularities were confirmed in seven models, including the submission of false data in tests for pedestrian head protection in the event of a collision. Mazda was found to have arbitrarily manipulated control software in engine output tests for five models. Yamaha confirmed that it conducted noise tests under inappropriate conditions for three models. Honda was found to have falsely recorded noise test results for 22 models, and Suzuki was found to have falsely recorded brake test results for one model.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has instructed three companies, Toyota, Mazda, and Yamaha, where irregularities have been confirmed in currently produced models, to suspend the shipment of models that had irregularities until it can be confirmed that they meet national standards. The shipping suspension applies to three Toyota models, two Mazda models, and one Yamaha model. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism plans to investigate the facts of the matter, including conducting on-site inspections of the five companies in the future.

Toyota Motor Corporation has stopped shipping and selling three models currently in production, the "Corolla Fielder," "Corolla Axio," and "Yaris Cross," in accordance with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's directive. Toyota stated, "We sincerely apologize for the concerns and inconvenience caused to our customers and stakeholders who have placed their trust in Toyota. Like Hino Motors, Daihatsu Industry, and Toyota Auto Body, where certification issues arose, we take the fact that issues have occurred at Toyota seriously."

Toyota announced that although it has confirmed that all models involved in the irregularities have no performance issues, it has decided to suspend the shipment and sale of the three models currently in production from June 3rd. Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda said at a press conference, "We made a mistake in our approach to certification issues. We can't mass-produce without resolving this. Since we can't mass-produce, we have to stop the production line." He also said, "We will cooperate fully with the authorities and do our utmost to obtain approval as soon as possible and resume production."

This incident has dealt a major blow to the credibility of the Japanese automotive industry as a whole. Going forward, each company must take thorough measures to prevent the recurrence of certification irregularities and work to restore consumer confidence.