Subaru Admits Inspection Failings, in Another Blow to Japan’s Carmakers<br />Subaru, which is one of Japan’s smaller carmakers, with production of about 1 million vehicles a year, said<br />that 245 workers in Japan were authorized to conduct final vehicle inspections.<br />It said a much smaller group of employees — between four and 17 at any given time — who were studying to be inspectors<br />but had not yet qualified, would also certify vehicles, contrary to government guidelines.<br />Subaru said it had allowed unqualified workers to perform quality checks on cars produced for the Japanese market.<br />Automotive manufacturers and their suppliers perform multiple safety tests during development and production, and serious<br />but hard-to-find faults — say, unstable chemicals inside an airbag inflater, which are believed to have caused the Takata hazard — are unlikely to be spotted by a limited, mostly external once-over.<br />Cars made for export are not subject to the same rules,<br />because governments outside Japan do not require final vehicle inspections to be carried out by workers with special training and qualifications.<br />Nissan, for instance — a particularly foreign-focused producer — sells 90 percent of its cars outside Japan.<br />The revelation, which follows a similar admission from Nissan, comes at a time when Japan’s automobile industry — normally known for its precise engineering<br />and exacting quality standards — is under unusually intense scrutiny.
