Organization hopes to claim €50 million in damages from Daihatsu

The Dutch organization Daihatsuclaim hopes to recover over 50 million euros in damages from the car manufacturer, Daihatsu. It was recently revealed that the Japanese car company has been falsifying their crash tests since 1989.

“Due to this negative news, it is expected that the value of a Daihatsu passenger car will drop by 25 percent", the organization said last week. It believes that owners should be compensated for the depreciation of their vehicles. People with such a car were invited to register with the organization said it seeks to win damages.

Daihatsuclaim says that more than 49,000 cars from the brand 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.

"Daihatsu was known as one of the most reliable car manufacturers in Japan, but now it turns out that isn't the case," the organization said. "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."

Daihatsu already announced earlier this week that they would not deliver any new vehicles until at least January. The group first wants to put its affairs in order. Parent company Toyota previously announced that it intends to help Daihatsu pay for the losses the company is suffering.

Daihatsus are only available secondhand in the Netherlands. The Japanese brand stopped selling cars in Europe in 2013. There are still dozens of service shops active in the Netherlands which keep the cars running.

Earlier, the Dutch consumer association Consumentenbond reported that it had not received any complaints from Dutch drivers about the scandal at the car brand.