Ailing Mitsubishi Fuso recalls more trucks
May 21, 2004 12:36 PM, from staff and wire reports
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp has announced another vehicle recall, this one involving more than 180,000 trucks and buses, after four cases of defective trucks and buses surfaced.
The worst flaw, detected in a clutch housing of heavy-duty trucks, apparently led to a fatal accident in Japan in 2002, said Wilfried Porth, Mitsubishi Fuso president and chief executive officer.
Mitsubishi plans to recall its “The Great” heavy truck to repair the defective clutch housing.
“I personally feel strong anger with the fact that a critical issue like the clutch housing failure was untouched until today, neglecting company responsibility,” said Porth.
He said Mitsubishi Fuso should have initiated the recall at a May 1996 meeting, but instead ordered only limited modifications and left the problem unresolved.
Mitsubishi Motors Corp, battered by a recall cover-up scandal in 2000, spun off its truck and bus operations in January 2003.
In related news, Mitsubishi Motors Corp said it plans to eliminate about 6,200 jobs from its global work force and receive $4 billion in financing from the Mitsubishi group and other investors. Job cuts will reduce the firm’s total work force from 44,400 to 38,200, officials said.
