When the driving force goes wrong

It goes without saying that an enterprises ultimate mandate is to pursue profits for development, but development also commands a harmony between profitability and business ethics, and to a larger extent - corporate social responsibility. The latest scandal relating to Toyota Motor Vietnams faulty vehicles amounting to the thousands as admitted by the automaker is menacing the community, not because of the problem vehicles already launched onto the market, but rather the attitude of the enterprise towards the community. It is by no means acceptable. The sensational news broke out last week when Le Van Tach, an engineer at the automakers factory in Hanoi, sent letters to the national quality control agency Vietnam Register and local media, accusing Toyota of breaching the law by intentionally skipping safety standards. The engineers denunciation immediately drew public attention, and prompted the car maker to convene a news conference in Hanoi with explanations designed to cool down the widespread anger. At the press conference, Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV) admitted that there were technical flaws with some 8,830 cars of its Innova model, but said those problems would not impact safety. The carmaker said those vehicles might have one of three problems of higher-than-standard rear wheel brake cylinder pressure, striker bolt tightening torque reduction, and loose camber tightening. Some 200 Innova J cars, for instance, could have braking systems that are more responsive than usual and 7,580 other Innova cars could have camber tightening, the automaker said. The cars, according to TMV, will not be recalled since the technical problems are minor and do not affect driver safety. Furthermore, it said, the carmaker had not received any complaint from customers concerning the problems so far. Tadashi Yoshida, production manager of TMV, asserted that the company had also checked and tested driving on scores of the vehicles to ensure that the problems did not affect the whole safety of vehicles in operation. TMV told reporters that its engineers had found that the rear wheel brake cylinder pressure on some Toyota Innova J vehicles was higher than Toyotas standard, at nearly 60 kgf/cm2 on some units compared to Toyotas standard of between 27.8 and 42.3 kgf/cm2. As the carmaker and its engineer traded barbs at the news conference, local media has questioned the credibility of the automaker in intentionally hiding the information. A leader of the Vietnam Automobile Engineer Society, according to Tien Phong, shows his astonishment at the carmakers reasoning, stressing that a standard set out by car designers must be fully complied to. The standard is only accepted after it has earlier been repeatedly tested. The crucial principle is that (TMV) cannot ignore the standard, he is quoted as saying, adding that the rear wheel brake cylinder pressure fault poses huge risks to drivers. Nguyen Manh Hung, general secretary of the Vietnam Consumer Protection Association (Vinastas), says on Tien Phong that consumers can demand compensation or even sue the automaker if their vehicles fail to meet safety standards as prescribed. He also demands that Toyota show its responsibility towards consumers, and this must be done immediately as thousands of possibly faulty vehicles are still in circulation.

Transport Minister Ho Nghia Dung has urged Vietnam Register and the Science-Technology Department to look into the situation, and if the vehicles have such serious mistakes, then they must be recalled immediately. On Tuoi Tre, Phan Huu Nam, head of a lab at the Engine Mechanical Institute under Hanoi Polytechnic University, says information from Engineer Tach shows three major problems, namely the suspension system referred to by TMV as camber tightening fault, the braking system, and the striker bolt tightening torque reduction. The braking fault is the most serious as the rear wheel may skid and lose traction when braking, he comments. Nam also wonders why such a big automaker can ignore safety standards. If they set out high standards and then do not comply, that is seen contempt of customers, Nam says on the newspaper. Local media also reports incidents with Toyota car owners. Nguyen Van Lam, a driver in Hanoi, says on Tien Phong that his Innova car cannot run at 90kph since at that speed the car loses balance. Similarly, a taxi driver named Ho Dang Luan says on Tuoi Tre he feels the Innova cab loses balance when driving at 50kph. The problem is also confirmed by some garage owners in Hanoi, who say on Tuoi Tre that they have fixed several Innova cars with braking faults. Nguyen Tri Thanh, a technician at a garage on Lang Street in Hanoi, says several people have complained about braking problems, especially when driving at a high speed, as the brake can be gripped threatening safety. Problems at TMV are not merely accidental, as the scandal reminds readers of another one in mid-2008 when the public learned that TMV fitted nearly 100 sets of rusty engines on its vehicles and launched them on the market. In both cases, information was kept away from the public. On Phap Luat, the director of a media research center says that even if the law did not cover such issues, TMV still needs to behave according to corporate social responsibility, and it must recall its products immediately. TMV can pursue profitability, but that driving force must be set on the right course. When the driving force goes wrong, the growth momentum will be lost, as its credibility or creditworthiness will surely be at stake.