Toyota to Be Responsible for Daihatsu Compact Car Development

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
Daihatsu Motor Co’s customised ‘COPEN’ is displayed at Tokyo Auto Salon 2023 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2023.

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Daihatsu Motor Co. said Monday that Toyota Motor Corp. will take responsibility for development and certification processes for its compact cars, following its safety test fraud scandal.

Toyota will commission actual development work to Daihatsu.

The changes will be implemented starting with models undergoing changeovers. Daihatsu is a part of the Toyota group.

In December, Daihatsu halted vehicle production and shipments at all four assembly plants in Japan due to the scandal.

Three of them have resumed operations after the transport ministry confirmed the safety of the vehicles. Operations at the remaining head office plant in Osaka Prefecture are unlikely to restart anytime soon.