Toyota halts Yaris sales in Thailand due to safety test issue.

Toyota Halts Sales of Yaris Ativ in Thailand Due to Safety Concerns

Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp has stopped sales and deliveries of its Yaris Ativ in Thailand after its affiliate Daihatsu rigged part of the door in side-collision safety tests. The problem may have occurred due to pressure on Daihatsu to shorten the development time of the Ativ. Toyota’s CEO for the Asia region, Masahiko Maeda, said that the vehicles customers were currently using were safe, but Toyota was working with the Thai government to resume sales of the model. Further investigation was underway.

Investigation Underway

Toyota and Daihatsu disclosed last month they were investigating how part of the door in side-collision safety tests carried out for some 88,000 small cars had been changed for the purpose of side-on crash safety testing. Daihatsu has said that some 76,000 of those vehicles were Yaris Ativs mainly bound for Thailand, Mexico and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Personal Attachment to Thailand

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said he had visited the Gateway plant for the first time in a decade to assure workers, also saying he had come to the Southeast Asian nation because he loved it. Toyoda has a personal attachment to Thailand, calling it his “home away from home” at an event to celebrate Toyota’s 60th anniversary of operations in the country late last year.

Daihatsu’s Importance in Southeast Asia

For Daihatsu, which became a wholly owned Toyota subsidiary in 2016 when Toyoda was president, Southeast Asia is an important market, with production facilities in Indonesia and Malaysia.

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