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PRESS RELEASE

Mitsubishi Fuso Announces Radical Clean-up of Past


June 14, 2004

  • First systematic approach in addressing past quality issues in company history
  • Transformation of company by overcoming old corporate culture of concealment
  • 47 field actions planned for Japan over next 4 months

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC) announced today that it intends to implement 47 field actions in Japan to clean up with its outstanding quality issues of the past.

MFTBC has implemented a strict internal investigation going back to 1992 over the full period of 12 years. It has looked at potentially safety-relevant issues including revisiting all former repair directives, so-called shiji kaishu, from a technical perspective The company had issued such repair directives to dealers before deciding on the necessity for notifying the authorities about a recall or other matter. Over the last two months, a number of executives of the former management have been arrested and indicted for professional negligence and violating the road trucking vehicle law in relation to their handling of past quality issues.

By now applying this new systematic approach into past quality issues for the first time in the company's history, MFTBC has overcome shortcomings of former disclosures. It has strictly cleaned up quality issues, which had not been sufficiently dealt with in the past.

MFTBC President and CEO Wilfried Porth said, "This clean-up process was only possible by overcoming the old corporate culture of concealment." He added, "Today's announcement marks a milestone in transforming Fuso into a transparent and socially responsible company."

MFTBC plans to implement 43 recall and 4 improvement campaigns over the next four months starting immediately. The 43 recall campaigns include 13 former repair directives. MFTBC awaits final confirmation by the MLIT that the remaining 58 repair directives do not need to be redone as a recall campaign as judged by the company from a technical perspective.

The 47 field actions will affect approximately 450,000 units in Japan. Concrete measures in overseas markets will be decided and implemented in conjunction with national authorities. Despite expecting a significant business impact, MFTBC remains confident to keep its strong position in Japan and remain market leader for commercial vehicles in many Asian countries.

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