Akio Toyoda Apologizes for Himself and Toyota
 |
TOKYO - June 6, 2024: This past Monday, Akio Toyoda, CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation issued the following apology and statement regarding Toyota's vehicle testing scandal:
"On January 26 this year, we received instructions from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to conduct an investigation on type designation applications, which we followed.
"The investigation is still ongoing, but it identified that seven models, including those that have already ended production since 2014, were tested using methods that differ from the standards defined by the national authorities, and we reported this to the Ministry on May 31.
"This matter involves two companies, Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor East Japan.
"As the person responsible for the Toyota Group, I would like to extend my sincere apologies to our customers, car enthusiasts, and all stakeholders for this issue, following Hino, Daihatsu, and Toyota Industries Corporation. I am truly sorry.
"All the cases are related to certification.
"The certification system in Japan verifies whether a product meets the established standards, mainly in the fields of safety and environment, using measurement methods in accordance with rules.
"Vehicles can only be manufactured and sold after meeting certification test standards. The point of this issue is that the vehicles were mass-produced and sold without going through the correct certification processes."
For background on this scandal see The Auto Channel's initial report on January 30, 2024: