Nissan recalls cars after unauthorised checks
1.2 million units fail to meet standards
Tokyo – Nissan said yesterday it was recalling some 1.2 million cars in Japan that had failed to meet domestic rules on final vehicle inspections.
The announcement came after Nissan’s shares slumped yesterday on reports that tests were performed by staff who were not certified to check the vehicles to Japanese government standards.
Nissan president Hiroto Saikawa said junior inspectors were performing tasks they were not certified to do, calling it a “very serious problem”.
“Rather than officially certified inspectors, those supporting them performed the task,” he told reporters at the company’s headquarters in Yokohama near Tokyo.
“They were not one-off, accidental incidents,” he said.
The affected vehicles were built between October 2014 and September 2017.
“When and where and how these things started happening, even someone in my position cannot say. I want to get to the bottom of this myself,” Saikawa said.
While the inspections did not meet the requirements of Nissan’s home market, “we’re sure the vehicles that were shipped were safe and secure”.
The costs of the recall were likely to be about 25 billion yen (R3-trillion), Saikawa said.
Nissan said a team including an independent third party “is currently investigating the causes and measures to prevent recurrence”.