Involving car companies have sounded one hundred days trace of "false door" in Kobe Steel

Under the domino effect, the chain reaction of the whistle blow of Kobe Steel continued.

On the evening of January 17, 2018, Toyota China issued the "Final Report on the Impact of Kobe Steel's Violations on Toyota-related Vehicles" (hereinafter referred to as the "Final Report"). In an interview with a reporter from the China Business News, Lexus’s relevant department cited the contents of the “Final Notice” issued by Toyota China. “After confirmation, all materials can meet Toyota's relevant standards in terms of vehicle quality and performance." Three months ago, Lexus issued a statement on the Kobe steelmaking incident, saying that it is stepping up its efforts to confirm the impact of materials other than aluminum on vehicles. Today, this incident has finally come to a conclusion.

In fact, not only Japanese car companies but also General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Daimler, Rolls-Royce, and PSA Peugeot Citroën were affected by the Kobe Steel fraud scandal, affecting more than 30 car companies. . As of the end of the day, the Kobe steel manufacturing fraud scandal in Japan has been exposed for more than 100 days. What is the status of the Kobe steelmaking institute in the midst of the crisis and how has it affected companies?

False door "One hundred days"

On October 8, 2017, the third largest steel company in Japan, Kobe Steel, admitted that it had tampered with some steel and aluminum products to obtain inspection data and supplied products that did not meet customer requirements as qualified products for customers. On October 13, the Kobe Steel Institute acknowledged that they delivered products that tampered with technical data to a total of about 500 domestic and foreign customers.

On January 15th, the Kobe steel making fraud case passed 100 days. In order to avoid causing uncontrollable impact, various car companies in the one-hundred-thousand-day period are promoting investigation and verification.

On January 17, Toyota China, which was caught in the whirlpool of the Kobe steelmaking fraud, announced the latest tracking instructions and said that all aspects of all vehicles have been verified to meet Toyota's relevant standards. At this point, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Subaru, Honda and other affected Japanese car companies have stated that the materials used meet various safety standards and will not cause major safety impact on vehicles. In addition, automakers such as Honda and Subaru said that they will promote the impact of parts and components purchased by suppliers and suppliers.

In addition to Japanese car companies, according to the information disclosed previously, General Motors, Ford Motor, Tesla, Daimler, Rolls-Royce, Peugeot Citroen, Hyundai Kia and other auto makers may be affected.

On January 13, citing Reuters, the U.S. automobile regulator asked 29 automakers to disclose the possible safety impact on the vehicles or engines caused by counterfeit data from Kobe Steel. On November 8, 2017, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States has asked motorists such as General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen and Tesla to submit safety reports to them, but some companies have extended their time; at the same time, the United States The Ministry requested Kobe Steel to provide relevant information on the inconsistent sales of products to customers in the United States.

In the past three months or so, the affected companies have conducted self-inspections, and the Kobe Steel Institute has been found to be imperfect in its quality management system due to data fraud scandals. A plant belonging to a company directly under Kobe Steel Works and a plant of a subsidiary company were suspended and revoked Japanese Industrial Standards certification.

At the end of 2017, Kobe Steel announced the dismissal of three executive directors in the aluminum and copper business unit because it had long known that there was a violation. However, the final report that was scheduled to be released before the end of 2017 has also been postponed. The former staff of the Kobe Steel Institute stated: “In the past, more than one director had also adopted a tacit attitude toward violations.” An economist who declined to be named stated: “In the investigation of the steel manufacturing industry in Kobe, the parties concerned may further increase. The purpose of fraud is to pursue interests."

Whirlpool

Shortly after the Kobe steel fraud was exposed, Kobe Steel announced the list of affected models. In this list, most of the fraudulent materials involved in vehicle use are doors, hoods, tailgates, and other covers. Li Qingsheng, chief consultant of Beijing Automotive Technology Research Center of China Automotive Technology and Research Center, said: “If falsified materials are applied to the covers, it will not have a serious impact on the safety of the entire vehicle; however, if it is applied to other sites, it cannot be asserted that there will be What influence."

All along, Japanese manufacturers are known for their high quality, but problems have occurred frequently in the past two years. From the Takada Airbag Incident that was recalled for more than a decade, to the incidents such as the fabrication of counterfeit doors at the Kobe Steel Co., Ltd. and Dongli, the brand image of Japanese companies was affected to some extent. Take Kobe Steel as an example. Due to data fraud events, orders were significantly reduced, customers flowed to competitors and caused economic losses. It was reported that Kobe Steel had planned to auction asset financing to deal with customer claims and lawsuits.

Public data shows that in 2017, Japanese car manufacturers Nissan, Honda, Toyota, and Mazda all showed positive sales growth in China. However, Zuozian analysts believe that: “The impact of the current Kobe Steel fraud case has not yet been fully exposed, but it can be estimated to some extent that the growth rate of Japanese brands in China this year will slow down.” As a result, car companies as victims, the consumer's impression of their brand so reduced. “In the process, how companies deal with matters that seem to be of the utmost importance. Consumers really care whether the vehicles they purchase have potential safety hazards and how to solve them if there is a potential safety hazard. What companies need to do is to eliminate fake steel from Kobe Steel. All the possible adverse effects caused by the case," said Yan Jinghui, a well-known commentator in the auto industry.

What is more important for car companies is how to avoid falling into scandals again and strengthen internal management. We should not focus too much on profits and ignore quality. “This fraudulent incident needs to be viewed rationally. For now, it does not have much impact, but what kind of impact will occur in the future depends on the processing methods of the Kobe Steel Plant and car companies,” Yan Jinghui said frankly.