Daihatsu Resumes Production at All Plants in Japan

Ikeda, Osaka Pref., May 7 (Jiji Press)--Daihatsu Motor Co. on Tuesday resumed production at its plant in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, after suspending operations from late December last year due to its safety test fraud scandal.

All of Daihatsu's four finished vehicle assembly plants in Japan are back online for the first time in about four months. The subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. will speed up 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, started resuming production in stages for models confirmed safe by the transport ministry.

At the plant in Ikeda, the company will manufacture the Copen minivehicle and a model of the same name for Toyota.

"We've caused inconvenience for a very large number of people for a very long time," a male worker at the Daihatsu headquarters said Tuesday morning. "Although we're still in the process of restoring trust, I think we've moved a step forward."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]