Toyota said it halted global shipments of 10 vehicles after discovering that a subsidiary had “irregularities” with testing of diesel engines used in cars, the latest embarrassing problem to hit one of the world's biggest automakers in the last months.
A Toyota unit used software to measure horsepower output that made “the values appear smoother with less variation,” parent company Toyota said in a statement. The vehicles “meet engine power standards” and there is no need to stop using the engines or vehicles, the company said. The company named the models and engines affected, but did not say how many vehicles it would stop shipping.
Even so, Toyota decided to stop marketing the 10 models that use three diesel engines in question. Among the models that will be temporarily closed is the popular Hilux van.
In December, Toyota was rocked by a series of recalls and production shutdowns. First, it recalled about 1 million vehicles in the United States due to an airbag problem. It then reported that Japan's government was investigating Daihatsu, the subsidiary, for safety problems dating back decades.
Daihatsu said it would halt shipments of all its models due to irregularities in safety inspections. Last week, it said it was recalling 320,000 Daihatsu vehicles and was not yet ready to reopen its production facilities.
Toyota said it understood “the severity” of the two back-to-back testing issues that “have shaken the very foundation of the company as an automaker.”
