Toyota Yaris Ativ Sales Suspended In Thailand

Anis

09 May 2023 at 06:15 PM

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The Yaris Ativ is priced from THB539,000 (RM67,700).

Toyota Motor Corp has halted sales and deliveries of its Yaris Ativ in Thailand. Sold as the Vios here in Malaysia, the suspension stems from the reported rigged crash-testing efforts by affiliate Daihatsu. However, sales of the Toyota Vios in Malaysia have been unaffected by what Toyota regarded as “procedural irregularities” by Daihatsu. Also, in Malaysia at least, The Toyota Vios, as well as the Perodua Axia that underpins a similar platform, retains their UN-R95 certification still.

On April 28, 2023, Daihatsu Motor Corporation admitted to a procedural irregularity in which the driver door of the Yaris Ativ/Vios and the Axia/Agya were modified to improve the side impact test.
The door trims on these cars were reportedly modified with a notch to reduce the risk of the door panel breaking with a sharp edge and injuring someone when the side airbag deploys.
The modified notch used in these crash tests does not exist in the production versions of the affected vehicles.

The 'notch' highlighted in the bottom right image is designed to reduce risk of injury or death as it prevents sharp cuts from forming when the side airbag is deployed.

According to Daihatsu, approximately 76,000 of those vehicles were Yaris Ativs destined primarily for Thailand, Mexico, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Masahiko Maeda, Toyota's CEO for the Asia region said that the problem may have occurred due to pressure on Daihatsu to shorten the car's development time. He added that the vehicles that customers were currently using were safe.

The number of Perodua Axia, Toyota Agya, and Toyota Vios (Yaris Ativ) affected from this latest revelation.

Toyota was collaborating with the Thai government to reintroduce the model, which was manufactured at Toyota's Gateway plant in Chachoengsao province, and further investigation was underway. "If development had been carried out under appropriate conditions, this kind of problem would of course not have happened," Maeda said. "I think the fact that it still happened, means there was some kind of pressure at the development site," he said, adding that the vehicle's relatively large size may have posed a challenge to Daihatsu, which specialises in the production of small cars.

For the Malaysian market, UMW Toyota Motor President, Datuk Ravindran K. assures that the Vios is safe to use. In a recent press release, he assured that the All-New Toyota Vios complies with all safety regulations and there is no compromise to the quality of the vehicle.

"The safety of our customers and our vehicles are always our top priority," he added.

The Daihatsu safety scandal has also affected the Perodua Axia/Toyota Agya. Perodua, like the Vios in Malaysia, ensures that no recalls are required for the Perodua Axia.