Business
Toyota halts vehicle shipments over emissions testing issues
By Jake Beardslee · January 29, 2024
In brief…
- The investigation found irregularities in emissions testing of diesel engines made by Toyota affiliate Toyota Industries and used in multiple Toyota models.
- Toyota is halting shipments of affected vehicles like the Hilux and Land Cruiser 300 and will submit to new certification tests overseen by regulators.
- The issue impacted six production lines at four Toyota plants in Japan but the company says the engines still meet standards.
- Toyota and Toyota Industries saw their stock prices drop on Monday following the news.
Toyota Motor announced Monday that it will halt shipments of several popular vehicle models after discovering irregularities in emissions certification tests conducted by affiliate Toyota Industries. An investigation by a special committee found problems with horsepower testing procedures used for certifying three diesel engine models manufactured by Toyota Industries and used in Toyota vehicles worldwide, Reuters reported.
The affected Toyota models include the Hilux pickup truck, Land Cruiser 300 SUV, Hiace van, Fortuner SUV, Innova multi-purpose vehicle, and Lexus LX500D SUV. Toyota says around 10 of its models globally use the engines in question.
According to Toyota, the investigation revealed that electronic control units used during horsepower testing differed from those used in actual engine production. This resulted in a “lack of communication and coordination” between the two companies regarding proper testing protocols, acknowledged Toyota Industries President Koichi Ito.
Toyota says it has confirmed the engines still meet emissions standards and performance output requirements. However, the company said it will suspend shipments of the affected models and submit to new certification tests overseen by regulators to resolve the issue.
In Japan, the stoppage impacted six production lines at four different Toyota plants. Toyota Industries said it sold about 84,000 of the problematic diesel engines in the past fiscal year.
While Toyota says customers have not been impacted, the issue is an embarrassing one for the world’s top selling automaker. It comes after the company recently dealt with a scandal involving falsified safety tests at subsidiary Daihatsu.
Toyota holds a 25% stake in supplier Toyota Industries, which in turn owns 8% of Toyota stock. Shares in both companies dropped on Monday following the revelations.