Nissan reveals misconduct over inspector exams

November 7, 2017

TOKYO- Nissan Motor Co. said Monday that there had been misconduct over its written examinations to become certified final inspectors of finished vehicles.

A third-party investigation found that there were cases in which examiners gave examinees answers to the tests, the Japanese automaker said.

Nissan plans to resume production and shipments at five of its six domestic plants in stages starting Tuesday, following a suspension imposed in the wake of a false vehicle inspection scandal.

The automaker has introduced measures at the six plants to prevent a repeat of the scandal involving the use of unqualified workers in final vehicle inspections.

Confirming improvement, the transport ministry allowed Nissan to restart production and shipments once additional measures are taken to address the examination misconduct.

The ministry is expected to restart operations at the remaining plant in Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan, shortly, sources familiar with the matter said.

The use of unqualified workers came to light in late September. On Oct. 19, Nissan President and Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa said that such false inspections continued even after the revelation, and announced the halt of production and shipments at the six factories while vowing to take preventive measures.

The measures introduced include installing fences around final vehicle inspection lines at the factories to keep unqualified workers from entering the areas and starting checks of inspection operations four times a day. Jiji Press