The counterfeiter is back! Japanese car manufacturers are showing their craftsmanship again, but will they be completely wiped out this time?

Do you remember the various "immortals" in Japan?

In Japanese culture, everything can be a "fairy", such as the rice-cooking fairy, the tempura fairy, the sushi fairy, etc. But in the past two years, what Chinese netizens have mentioned more is the "fake fairy".

On June 3, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan reported that five Japanese manufacturers including Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Yamaha and Suzuki had committed fraud when applying for production certification. On the same day, executives of Toyota, Honda and Mazda collectively bowed and apologized, once again demonstrating the "craftsman spirit."

Japanese media have calculated that the total number of illegal vehicles of the five companies exceeds 5 million. Don't blame Chinese netizens for being so harsh. Japanese manufacturers are indeed outstanding in fraud. On June 4, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan began an on-site inspection of Toyota Motor's headquarters. This matter has alarmed the top leaders of the Japanese government.

Let’s first take a look at what regulations Toyota and other manufacturers have violated this time.

The Japanese automobile industry has an "automobile certification system", the most commonly used system in this system is the "type designation system". If we make a simple analogy, it is roughly equivalent to China's "product access announcement".

Generally speaking, automobile manufacturers' models must be registered with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan before large-scale production. Of course, various certifications and tests must be carried out before registration, and only those that are compliant and legal can be put on the market for sale.

Toyota and other manufacturers' fraudulent behavior appeared in this certification process. According to the reports submitted by Toyota and other manufacturers, these violations mainly include pedestrian and occupant protection test data, collision tests, noise tests, brake tests, exhaust emissions, etc., which can be said to be varied.

Many fans of Japanese manufacturers in China may feel uncomfortable after hearing this news. For a long time, Japanese cars have been said to be the typical representatives of craftsmanship. The emergence of such a scandal is an absolute slap in the face.

In fact, these fraudulent behaviors were not voluntarily confessed by Toyota and other manufacturers, but were self-examined under the supervision of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan. In 2023, Daihatsu Industries of Japan was found to have committed fraud in the engine certification process. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan felt that the situation was serious, so in January this year, it ordered 85 manufacturers to conduct an internal investigation, and the problem was exposed.

In most countries, this kind of large-scale fraud would be enough to cause a sensation. Japan is no exception, and many senior Japanese government officials have come out to accuse Toyota and other automakers.

But the question is, will the Japanese government really take action against Toyota and other automakers?

This is probably difficult, because the automobile industry is the lifeblood of the Japanese economy, providing more than 5 million jobs in Japan, and Toyota is "too big to fail." In fact, the fraud in the Japanese automobile industry has long been exposed, and some manufacturers have a history of fraud for more than 40 years, but they have not been severely punished.

Will this scandal have a significant impact on the global sales of Toyota and other Japanese cars? At present, it is difficult to say. As Akio Toyoda and other executives said in their apology, although these vehicles violated the regulations, it did not affect their normal use. In other words, although they did not meet Japan's "national standards", the product performance was still good and they could be used.

Let's take the simplest example. Toyota's model falsified noise in the test. It slightly changed the value. Can you feel it in the actual use of the car? The same is true for falsifying engine data. If the fuel consumption of an engine is 8.1L or 8.2L per 100km, can ordinary consumers feel the difference?

Therefore, such a scandal will not necessarily affect Toyota's reputation overseas. Most consumers in the auto market will not even pay attention to this incident. Toyota's cars will still be sold. If nothing unexpected happens, Toyota will still be the global auto sales champion this year.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, there are only a few countries in the world that are truly capable of independently manufacturing cars, and Toyota cars are in great demand in most parts of the world. This scandal is far from enough to hurt Toyota. In 2009, Toyota's "unable to brake" incident caused a sensation. Toyota did not pay a penny in compensation to Chinese consumers, but the joke that "Japanese cars are durable" is still circulating today.

However, this time, the situation may be different. It is difficult for Japanese cars to have problems in other markets around the world, but they may hit a wall in the Chinese market.

On June 3, the day the scandal was exposed, Toyota China quickly issued a statement, saying that the models sold by FAW Toyota, GAC Toyota and Lexus in the Chinese market had nothing to do with the fraud. This statement is not surprising, because China and Japan have different product access systems, and those models that can get away with it in Japan will not be allowed in China.

However, can Japanese cars really sit back and relax in the Chinese market?

In May 2024, Honda's sales in China were 66,000, down 34.66% year-on-year; Toyota's sales in May have not yet been announced, but it fell more than 30% year-on-year in April. In April 2024, the market share of Japanese cars in China fell to 15.2%, a new low since 2013.

In other words, even without the scandal, Chinese consumers are no longer buying into Japanese cars. Japanese cars have long been subject to problems such as low configuration and high price, slow product improvement, and slow product replacement, which have long caused strong dissatisfaction among Chinese consumers. The "craftsman" image that Japanese cars have painstakingly built is rapidly collapsing.

This scandal will deal a heavy blow to the reputation of Japanese cars in China. The Chinese market is rapidly transforming to new energy, and Japanese manufacturers cannot adapt to this change, and their stronghold of fuel vehicles is gradually lost. Reputation deteriorates, sales decline, sales decline, reputation deteriorates, this is a vicious cycle, and once you get caught in it, it is difficult to turn around.

Interestingly, Toyota Camry has recently started to reduce the price of all models by more than 30,000 yuan, with the starting price being only 139,800 yuan. You know, this car has only been on the market for three months. It can be seen that Toyota and other manufacturers are really anxious. However, the impact of this scandal will put Japanese manufacturers in a difficult situation again.

Wang Chuanfu has predicted that in the next 3-5 years, the share of joint ventures in China may only be reduced to 10%. So, do domestic cars have to "take the first step to get ashore and kill Japanese cars first"?

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.