Toyota Motor says it will take a much greater role in the overseas development of Daihatsu vehicles, following a safety-testing scandal at the subsidiary.
Daihatsu Motor held a news conference on Monday to announce the structuring plan affecting the companies' compact-car businesses.
An organization within the Toyota group, Emerging-market Compact Car Company, will be abolished. It had served as a bridge between the two automakers and was responsible for the product planning of small cars. Daihatsu was mostly in charge of vehicle development and production.
The announcement said the arrangement will be scrapped on May 1. Toyota will then take broad responsibility for the overseas businesses from development to obtaining state certification. The parent company will commission Daihatsu to conduct vehicle development.
The scandal came to light last year and involved faked tests to obtain state certifications for vehicle safety.
A third-party investigative committee determined that Daihatsu came under pressure to develop vehicles within short timeframes. This occurred after the subsidiary had expanded its operations by joining Toyota's overseas projects.
Nakajima Hiroki, Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor, said, "We were unable to verify the extent by which Daihatsu prepared for certification."
Daihatsu has resumed production of models that regulators confirmed as meeting safety standards. But three models are still on hold.