12:26 JST, May 7, 2024
Ikeda, Osaka (Jiji Press) – Daihatsu Motor Co. on Tuesday resumed production at its factory in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, after suspending operations from late December last year due to the safety test cheating scandal.
All four completed Daihatsu car assembly plants in Japan are back online for the first time in about four months. The subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. will accelerate the delayed delivery of vehicles for which it has received orders, as well as the improvement of existing models and the development of new models.
In February, Daihatsu, headquartered in Ikeda, began resuming production in phases for models confirmed as safe by the Ministry of Transport.
At the Ikeda plant, the company will produce the Copen mini vehicle and an eponymous model for Toyota.
Even after resuming operations at all its domestic plants, Daihatsu’s production is expected to be less than 80% of fiscal 2022 levels before the scandal emerged, partly due to delays in the introduction of new models.