Toyota Yaris Cross deliveries resume in Australia following safety investigation

Customer deliveries of the Toyota Yaris Cross have resumed after the company confirmed they’re fully compliant with certification requirements.

The company had paused customer deliveries earlier this week in Australia, after Toyota in Japan suspended shipments of the vehicle pending an investigation of safety testing procedures.

“Earlier this week, we determined that a temporary pause in deliveries was the responsible and appropriate action to take while the vehicle’s status was investigated,” said a spokesperson for Toyota Australia.

“We take matters of this nature very seriously and will continue to be transparent with our customers.

“We are pleased to report that those investigations have confirmed the correct process was adopted in tests conducted for the Australian-specification Yaris Cross.

“As previously stated, there are no safety or performance issues with Yaris Cross.

“We apologise to customers for any inconvenience and thank them for their patience and understanding.”

Shipments have yet to resume out of Japan, but Toyota says it has “a good level” of stock in transit and at its dealerships.

Automotive News reported Toyota had undertaken safety tests it claimed were more stringent than required by the Japanese transport ministry for certification, however it had failed to obtain approval to do so.

Additional Toyota models affected include the current Toyota Corolla Fielder wagon and Corolla Axio sedan (which are popular grey imports among the Australian taxi and rideshare industry), as well as the now-discontinued Toyota Crown, Isis, Sienta and previous-generation Lexus RX.

Toyota issued a statement apologising for the issue, which an investigation found had resulted in insufficient data in pedestrian and occupant protection tests for the Yaris Cross and Corolla Fielder/Axio.

It subsequently paused shipments out of Japan for these vehicles.

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