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May 20, 2004

The outline of the press conference on May 20, 2004

On May 20, 2004, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC), Wilfried Porth, announced the following issues to the public:

Four quality cases which were the result of the rigorous internal investigations as announced before. In one of the four cases, there remained a possibility that quality problems contributed to a fatal accident in Yamaguchi Prefecture in October 2002. The President & CEO paid his deepest respects to the spirit of the victim and apologized to the surviving members of the victim’s family.


Furthermore, the President & CEO pointed out:
  • MFTBC agreed with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) to implement a recall campaign with utmost effort as soon as possible.

  • Customers were informed by direct mail to implement initial measures as soon as possible.

  • At the same time MFTBC started working on the final confirmation of permanent countermeasures.


The four quality cases:
  • The first case concerns a propeller shaft detachment due to loosening of nuts for the heavy-duty truck Super-Great. The company implemented a recall in 2003 but now found out that the development of the countermeasures was not sufficient. Production number is around 8,000, 12 PQR reported up to now.

  • The second and third cases concern heavy-duty sightseeing busses. One case is also a propeller shaft problem, and the other case concerns the parking brake. Production numbers in these cases are 250 and 4,000 respectively. There are 6 and 48 PQRs reported up to now.

  • Finally, the clutch housing case in the heavy-duty trucks, the Great, produced from 1983 to 1996. In case of excessive vibration of the propeller shaft the engine transmission compound starts vibrating. This can lead to a crack in the clutch housing. The danger is that in extreme situations parts of the propeller shaft can be separated from the vehicle. This can result in damage to the vehicle itself such as the brake hose or become a hazard to other road users.

  • A clear countermeasure was defined: addition of stiffener between engine and clutch and tighter fitting of the transmission spline. Production number is around 170,000 but the figure of vehicles still remaining in the field is only about the half. About 70 PQRs have been detected. Three physical injuries were reported, including the above-mentioned fatal accident.

The President & CEO pointed out that the matter should clearly have been treated as a recall back in 1996. However, only limited modifications were ordered leaving the failure without resolution. This was the result of the corporate culture of concealment. But concerned employees have spoken up and conveyed this long time hidden failure. This clearly shows that the new transparent corporate culture, which MFTBC has continuously strengthened over time under the new management, is working. It also demonstrated that MFTBC has systematically improved its quality management system since early 2003. Organizational and systematic changes are increasingly accompanied by a new attitude within our organization.

The Clutch Housing Case also included the cover-up of facts. As the President & CEO pointed out: any cover-up of safety related facts is totally unacceptable to MFTBC's customers, society but also for today’s management and employees of MFTBC. However, with the new management in place since 2003 including recent changes, a different attitude has emerged throughout the company. The process of coming up with the newest findings is best proof of this, according to MFTBC.

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