GREEN LIGHT FROM CARMAKERS
Toyota, Honda and Mazda say parts made from Kobe Steel’s aluminium are safe
THREE Japanese carmakers confirmed the safety of aluminium components made by Kobe Steel Ltd yesterday, allaying some concerns that Kobe Steel’s falsified quality data had compromised the safety of the products.
Kobe Steel, Japan’s No. 3 steelmaker, admitted earlier this month to falsifying the quality data for aluminium and copper products and even optical disks.
The falsifications may stretch back for 10 years. Since then, global carmakers, aircraft companies and other manufacturers have scrambled to identify potential hazards in their products.
Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co and Mazda Motor Co said that hoods and other exterior parts used in their cars which were made from aluminium directly supplied by Kobe Steel were safe, prompting a five per cent jump in Kobe Steel shares.
“We confirmed that the materials satisfy applicable statutory standards, and our own internal standard, for key safety and durability requirements for vehicles,” said Toyota in a statement.
Toyota identified aluminium plates supplied by Kobe Steel for the hoods and rear hatches of Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles. While outside the carmaker’s specifications, they were still safe to use.
The aluminium is supplied in sheets and used by carmakers to press into exterior parts.
Aluminium has become an increasingly popular material for carmakers to use in body parts as the material is lighter than steel, which can improve fuel efficiency.
The carmakers said they were checking to see how the safety and durability of other components sourced from suppliers which use Kobe Steel products would be affected by the falsifications. While other firms including Nissan Motor Co said their were still investigating the effect on their vehicles, the announcements by Toyota, Honda and Mazda suggest that Kobe Steel’s cheating scandal may have a limited impact on product safety.
European regulators earlier this week advised aircraft manufacturers to stop using parts supplied by the firm until their safety can be verified. Reuters