Sales of Toyota Raize and Daihatsu Rocky in Japan stopped

Sales of the Toyota Raize and Daihatsu Rocky have been halted due to the discovery of improper safety tests.

Daihatsu, a subsidiary of Toyota, revealed that it had uncovered misconduct in the crash tests conducted on a hybrid SUV model intended for the Japanese market, adding to the ongoing scandal surrounding their data tests.

As a result, shipments and sales of the hybrid version of the Rocky, also known as the Raize, were immediately stopped. This revelation follows similar misconduct uncovered in April regarding Daihatsu vehicles intended for international markets.

Concerned folks should also take note that only the chassis for the 1.2-litre hybrid variant is affected, not the 1.0-litre turbocharged variants. In other words, the Perodua Ativa on sale here in Malaysia shouldn't be affected by this issue.

As of Thursday (18 May 2023), the cumulative sales figures for the hybrid models stood at 22,329 units for the Rocky and 56,111 units for the Raize. Daihatsu is yet to decide whether a recall of the affected vehicles will be necessary.

The company's president, Soichiro Okudaira, stated during an online news conference that no safety issues have been identified so far based on the available data. However, additional safety tests will be conducted on the vehicles.

In response to the scandal, Okudaira emphasized the company's commitment to implementing reforms and addressing the issue as a management problem. The misconduct involving side impact tests was discovered on Thursday and subsequently reported to the transport ministry on Friday.

Previously, when announcing wrongdoing related to four overseas models in April, Daihatsu had denied any irregularities involving their domestic models. To investigate the scandal, a third-party committee was established by Daihatsu on Monday.