JAPAN: Japan's Mazda says reexaming self after Toyota's recalls.

Record ID: 463651

  • Title: JAPAN: Japan's Mazda says reexaming self after Toyota's recalls.
  • Date: 23rd February 2010
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (FEBRUARY 22, 2010) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) KIYOSHI OZAKI, MAZDA CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, SAYING: "In our case, it's not just about management but having an auditor and the involved departments to undergo an intensive discussion and coming up with a response. We are ready to take quick action. And this incident has allowed us to reexamine that response structure and make sure that we don't have any loose ends." REPORTER AND OZAKI (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) KIYOSHI OZAKI, MAZDA CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, SAYING: "We have a uniqueness that our competitors do not have and we've been successful at delivering that message. So we feel that our clients are different from Toyota's. In that sense, we don't see a direct impact of Toyota's recalls on our sales."
  • Embargoed: 10th March 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVA9VWEL3N2Y0RMFN124GV18JMVX
  • Story Text: Japanese car maker Mazda says it is re-examining its own response structures after Toyota's massive recalls.
    Mazda Motor Corp, Japan's fifth largest car manufacturer, said on Monday (February 22) it was scrutinising Toyota's recalls in order to re-examine its own response structures.
    "In our case, it's not just about management but having an auditor and the involved departments to undergo an intensive discussion and coming up with a response. We are ready to take quick action. And this incident has allowed us to reexamine that response structure and make sure that we don't have any loose ends," said Mazda Chief Financial Officer Kiyoshi Ozaki.
    Ozaki added that it had not seen much of an impact on its sales from Toyota's global recall of more than 8 million vehicles.
    "We have a uniqueness that our competitors do not have and we've been successful at delivering that message. So we feel that our clients are different from Toyota's. In that sense, we don't see a direct impact of Toyota's recalls on our sales," he said, adding that Mazda's market share in the United States is only two percent.
    But Ozaki said Mazda had no plans to launch a special marketing campaign to draw customers away from Toyota Motor Corp in the wake of Toyota's massive global recalls.
    Toyota has recalled over 8.5 million vehicles globally in recent months for problems including sticky accelerators, accelerators that can be pinned down by loose floormats and a braking glitch affecting hybrid models, including its flagship Prius.
    Regulators believe five deaths are associated with floor mats and are reviewing up to 29 other fatality reports to see if they are related to unintended acceleration.
    Toyota Chief Executive Officer Akio Toyoda faces the biggest test of his seven-month tenure when he testifies before the U.S lawmakers on Wednesday (February 24) in an effort to contain a safety crisis that threatens the reputation and continued success of the automaker in the market that made it a global powerhouse.
    A 2009 internal document turned over to lawmakers and made available on Sunday (February 21) shows Toyota's Washington D.C. staff trumpeting savings of more than $100 million by convincing regulators to end a 2007 investigation of sudden acceleration complaints with a relatively cheap floormat recall.
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