Daihatsu Scandal: Perodua & UMW Toyota to work with Malaysian authorities

Both Perodua and UMW Toyota have issued their official statements regarding the latest scandal surrounding Daihatsu Motor Company (DMC).

A recent investigation conducted by an independent third-party committee unearthed 174 new issues within 25 test categories from Daihatsu.

This has resulted in delivery suspensions for Daihatsu-developed vehicles within Japan as well as overseas due to "procedural irregularities". For the Malaysian side, the list of models affected by this latest Daihatsu scandal are:

Despite the "procedural irregularities", Perodua also stated that the affected cars still meet 'minimum regulations' but more in-depth discussions will take place to determine the development for all of its affected models.

Below are the official statements from Perodua as well as UMW Toyota.

Media statement by Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad on Daihatsu’s announcement on its “procedural irregularities”.

Pursuant to Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.’s (DMC) announcement today on the suspension of its models due to its “procedural irregularities”.

Perodua’s statement is issued as a response to the third-party committee’s report on the “procedural irregularities” done by DMC when conducting safety tests on vehicles for various OEMs issued earlier today. 

The third-party committee report, confirmed by DMC said: “These verifications and tests confirmed that all 174 irregularities pointed out by the third-party committee satisfied the standards set by laws and regulations”. 

We are doing a detailed assessment on the matter and are currently in discussion with Malaysian authorities as to the impact of this development to our vehicles. 
 
As background, on 28th April 2023, DMC announced of “procedural irregularities” when conducting safety tests on vehicles in Japan. Following that announcement, DMC has established a third-party investigative committee consisting of lawyers and technical personnel.

We sincerely apologise to our valued customers and the general public for any alarm this announcement may bring. Our intent is to reach out and assure our valued customers. 

We will share the outcome of this discussion with the public in due course.

UMW TOYOTA ENSURES TRANSPARENCY AND QUALITY AMID PROCEDURAL IRREGULARITIES

SHAH ALAM, 22 DECEMBER 2023 - In light of recent developments surrounding the safety test at Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd (DMC), a subsidiary of Toyota, Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMWT) ensures customers and the public that it is committed to transparency and accountability.

This follows the statement released by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) highlighting a procedural irregularity in the testing of models by DMC, impacting three Toyota models distributed by UMWT in Malaysia

President of UMW Toyota Motor, Datuk Ravindran K. said, "We emphasise our dedication to maintaining the highest standards and quality in our vehicles. Rest assured, we are actively working to ensure that all our vehicles in Malaysia strictly adhere to the relevant regulations and rules."

UMWT is working closely with regulatory authorities to promptly and transparently address this matter, maintaining its commitment to delivering high-quality vehicles to the Malaysian market.

He continued, "We understand the importance of trust, and we want to reinforce the confidence our customers place in us. Our dedication to customer satisfaction has always been and remains our top priority."