Nissan suspended new vehicle registration in Japan; preparing to recall all its PVs sold in the country in past three years
Nissan is in trouble in its home country for conducting unauthorized final vehicle checks of the Japanese-market spec cars. Authorities within the Japan’s transport ministry have raided two of the automaker’s factories. As a result, Nissan has suspended all the new vehicle registration with Japanese government. Also, Nissan is in process to recall all its passenger cars that were sold in the country in past three years.
The latest two Nissan plants that were subject f investigation are the Tochigi and Auto Works Kyoto plants. Reports suggest that two other factories are there that have been conducting unauthorized vehicle checks. Therefore, the authorities are likely to raid those facilities as well.
The affected cars will be re-inspected at free of cost by the Nissan technicians after recall. It is estimated that around 1.2 million passenger vehicles across Japan are affected due to the improper checking procedure. Apart from that, Nissan is also rectifying its vehicle check procedure as an effect of the investigation by the authorities under Japan’s transport ministry.
As the authorities found, names of certified technicians have been used on the documents to sign off the final vehicle checks, while that were conducted by non-certified technicians. This comes as the second major irregularities by any Japanese automaker in last two years. Previously, Mitsubishi was found misleading the customers with the fuel efficiency of its vehicles in Japanese market.
Considering that, Mitsubishi lost its brand image due to the fuel efficiency test scandal, it is to be seen how Nissan deals with the situation. The recall program will surely impact the profitability of the brand. Also, the auto major’s reputation has faced a blow due to the improper vehicle check procedure. Also, it is not known, if the brand has performed the same for the cars sold in other markets as well.
Source: Reuters