Dutch Firm to Claim €50 Million in Damages from Daihatsu

The Dutch organization Daihatsuclaim hopes to recover over 50 million euros in damages from Daihatsu after the recently-surfaced scandal revealing that the Japanese automaker has been falsifying their crash tests since 1989.

The organization said it believes the owners should be compensated for the depreciation of their vehicles. People with such a car were invited to register with the organization as it seeks to win damages. According to Daihatsuclaim:

“Due to this negative news, it is expected that the value of a Daihatsu passenger cars will drop by 25%.”

Daihatsuclaim says more than 49,000 Daihatsu cars are on the road in the Netherlands. The issue could also affect Toyota IQ owners, as Daihatsu also supplied parts for those cars. The Netherlands also has more than 3,000 of these registered. Daihatsuclaim further states:

“Daihatsu was known as one of the most reliable car manufacturers in Japan, but now it turns out that isn’t the case. The deception on Daihatsu’s part is far-reaching. For example, the published report shows that no test was carried out for the safety of the driver’s seat and the airbag, but that data from the passenger seat was used for this purpose.”

Parent company Toyota previously announced that it intends to help Daihatsu pay for the losses the company is suffering. Remember that Daihatsu car production is currently at a halt until at least January so that the automaker can get its affairs in order.

Interestingly, Daihatsu cars are only available secondhand in the Netherlands. The Japanese brand stopped selling cars in Europe in 2013, but there are still dozens of service shops active in the Netherlands that help keep these cars running.