Transportation
Toyota Car Certification Scandal Prompts Calls for Rules Review
- Carmakers, analysts question Japan’s stringent standards
- Toyota, Honda say no safety concerns with cars on the road
Source: JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images
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The safety requirements that led Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and other Japanese carmakers to falsify certification tests may be overly stringent and outdated given advancements in automobile design and technology, fueling calls for their review.
Despite revisions since the standards were enacted in 1951, regulations haven’t kept up with the times, Takaki Nakanishi, an analyst at Astris Advisory Japan KK, wrote in a report. Although Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota, apologized earlier this week for failing to take proper steps, he also pointed to gaps between tests carried out in the field and the procedures required during the certification process.