All Perodua and Toyota models in Malaysia that have been implicated in the recent Daihatsu safety scandal are deemed safe, the Ministry of Transport (JPJ) has announced, following extensive retesting of the affected models.
The models that have been involved in the safety scandal, of which an estimated 1.7 million units currently on the road in Malaysia, have all passed the minimum safety requirements as stipulated in the vehicle type approval framework, and fully complies with the United Nations regulations as recognised by the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP29), of which Malaysia is a signatory country.
A total of three international Technical Services (TS) providers have been enlisted for retesting, including UTAC in France, Applus IDIADA in Spain, and the Horiba-MIRA test centre in the UK, alongside Perodua’s R&D centre in Rawang.
The retests covered six UN regulations, including door latches and door retention mechanisms (R11), seat anchorage (R17), braking systems (R13H), pedestrian protection (R127), frontal impact (R94), and side impact tests (R95).
Results from the retests show that while there were discrepancies in data to the original test results submitted by Daihatsu due to several invalid test methodologies, they still fall within the acceptable range as stipulated by the United Nations.
The full report has been published and accessible to the public through JPJ’s repository linked here, and has also been included in full below.
“Based on the review and further examination by JPJ on each data and the results of the re-testing, it is confirmed that all Perodua and Toyota vehicle models in Malaysia fully comply with the UN safety standards as stipulated under the current VTA procedures,” said Minister of Transport, Anthony Loke, at a press conference yesterday, adding that no vehicle recalls will be necessary.
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The retests were prompted by the Daihatsu safety scandal that began in April last year, following a whistleblower report that surfaced several “procedural irregularities” in the company’s vehicle testing and homologation process. Subsequent investigations by various third parties found issues in the Type Approval validity of 64 models, including several under the Perodua and Toyota brands.
In Malaysia, the models that have been called into question included seven Perodua models (first- and second-generation Axia, Bezza, Myvi, Ativa, Alza, Aruz) and three Toyota models (fourth-generation Vios, Rush, Veloz).
“JPJ will continue to strictly monitor both vehicle manufacturers and the DMC (Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd.) to ensure that they have implemented the prescribed improvements. Among the required improvements are the updating of internal testing reporting procedures and the periodic implementation of manufacturing compliance activities involving the authorities, namely JPJ, on a regular basis,” added Loke.
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JPJ RETEST REPORT
