MILLIONS of cars sold by Toyota and Honda could be a crash risk after it was revealed they are caught up in the Japanese metal scandal. The manufacturers both said the incorrectly rated aluminium was used in their cars over the last 10 years.
The metal scandal broke after Kobe Steel, one of the key Asian metal producers, said its staff had given false strength and durability ratings. The metals were delivered to hundreds of companies including car manufacturers, aeroplane firms and the space industry. Aluminium produced at four Japanese factories over the last decade - and used in cars - was incorrectly listed as meeting quality standards.
Toyota confirmed it had used the product in doors and other body panels. Honda also said the metal with dodgy ratings was used in doors and bonnets. Mazda and Mitsubishi models could be caught up in the scandal, too.
While Kobe Steel also works with Nissan, Subaru, Ford and General Motors.
Sauce.
In June this year, Japanese firm Takata filed for bankruptcy after a recall of tens of millions of faulty, and thus potentially dangerous, airbags which essentially brought down the company. Now a major steel producer supplying some of the world's largest automotive companies has revealed that aluminium used in vehicles manufactured by companies like Toyota and Honda was incorrectly rated for strength, and thus potentially defective and at risk of causing serious injury and death to passengers and drivers.
What's even more troubling is that while many of these vehicles may have only been sold on the Japanese domestic market, hundreds of thousands of cars leave Japan each year bound for countries who bring them in as grey imports and sell them as affordable second-hand vehicles. Because a lot of vehicles leave Japan before they're 10 years old due to the massive amount of money needed by owners to keep them on the roads, they're often sold off overseas by brokers and other dealers. This means that potentially there are hundreds of thousands of vehicles worldwide with defective aluminium components.
So what say you, NSG? What do you think could be to blame for these such high profile scandals in the Japanese manufacturing industry?
