Nissan uses unauthorized workers in vehicle inspections

September 30, 2017

TOKYO- Nissan Motor Co. said Friday that final inspections of new finished vehicles of the firm had been conducted by employees who were not properly authorized to perform such checks.

As defects may have been overlooked, the Japanese transport ministry instructed Nissan to recheck all affected vehicles and take other steps to address the matter.

The major Japanese automaker plans to recall affected vehicles, a measure that may cover as much as more than one million units, sources familiar with the situation said.

The number of affected vehicles that remain to be delivered to customers stands at some 60,000. Nissan suspended sales procedures for them for rechecking.

The number of affected vehicles that have already been shipped is unknown, according to Nissan.

According to Nissan and the ministry, unauthorized technicians were involved in final inspections at the automaker's all six assembly plants in Japan.

Affected were all 21 models made at the six plants on Sept. 18 or before, including the new Leaf electric car scheduled to arrive at dealerships next month. Sales of the 21 models totaled about 1.2 million units over the past three years.

Final inspections are conducted for finished vehicles when they are shipped, a process specified under the road trucking vehicle law. Such checks are required to be done by those who have obtained related qualifications based on each automaker's internal rules.

The checks by unauthorized Nissan technicians were discovered during the ministry's on-site inspection of the company, according to the ministry and automaker.

Naoki Yuzuriha, a Nissan official, told a press conference that the company apologizes for the inconvenience and anxiety caused by it. He added that there is no safety risk to Nissan vehicles on the road.

Transport minister Keiichi Ishii said in a statement that the use of unauthorized technicians is very regrettable. Jiji Press