The new Crown Estate can be seen on the far right in Yokohama.
2:47 PM JST, June 15, 2024
Toyota Motor Corp. has decided to postpone the launch of the new Crown Estate model, originally scheduled for late July, due to the company’s irregularities surrounding the model certification required for mass production, it was learned on Friday.
This decision has been communicated to major dealers across the country. Toyota is currently investigating the certification fraud and has postponed obtaining a new certification.
The revised launch date is yet to be determined and production at the factory is also suspended for the time being. The Crown is one of Toyota’s flagship models and in 2022 the company announced the release of four new variants as the 16th generation of the series. The Crossover, Sport and Sedan models are already on sale.
The Estate, which was initially scheduled to be released in March, had already been postponed for further development. A Toyota spokesperson said: “We want to prioritize investigating the model certification application and formulating measures to prevent a recurrence.”
Parts suppliers must be compensated
Toyota announced on Friday that it is extending the production stop of three models involved in the model certification fraud until the end of July.
Production of the Yaris Cross, Corolla Fielder and Corolla Axio, which was initially halted until June 28, now remains suspended. Investigations by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Toyota are ongoing, and a decision to resume production will be made based on the results. This delay is expected to impact vehicle deliveries.
About 100 primary suppliers, who are directly involved with parts for the three models, are affected by the production cut. To compensate for the long-term suspension, Toyota will prepay suppliers for ordered parts and support their management.
