Lessons for CEOs — Toyota’s recall

Has CEO taken lessons from Toyota issues?
What lessons for CEOs from Toyota

Toyota’s large scale recall issue has been in spotlight in the past weeks, but this may have brought a valuable lesson to a CEO of a major car manufacturing company.

At the Geneva Motor Show this week, I have picked up interesting thoughts from an interview with Mr. Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan;

We don’t consider that it is a problem for one car manufacturer, but it’s an issue for the whole industry. Because all of the sudden, we ask “OK, What can we do to improve our own company?”, “How can we react in a way which is more transparent?”, “How can we react in a way which is much faster?”

Today, it is happening in one company, but at the same time we’re trying to learn for our own future about what is acceptable and what is not.

Because, recalls you’re going have recalls. Nobody can guarantee that there is never going to be a situation where there is no recall.

Mr. Ghosn went on saying;

Nobody can say that I have my own processes and they are going to be stable forever. We always look at what can we better, and revise our processes, just our processes, and particularly empower the people who are in front of the consumers, who are near the field to make decision quickly. Not waiting for the information to go through the hierarchy to the top level of the company before getting an answer. If you think a consumer is facing a problem, fix it. Immediately. Then we deal with the internal issues.

I’d expect that Nissan and other car manufacturers take good lessons from Toyota recall issue this time and they’ll prove what they will have learned, should a recall happen to them. It’s them to prove.


ECO and consumer concerns of car manufacturing industry, Geneva Motor Show 2010

I visited the 80th International Motor Show held Geneva, 4-14 March 2010.

Fancy cars

I observed an increased response by car manufacturers to the environment concern. Compared with my last visit of the show in 2007, it is a remarkable change all the major companies exhibited hybrid cars. In 2007, only Honda exhibited a hybrid car already in use in the market place. Not only for cars for the general consumers, such as Nissan and Volks Wagen but also high-end sports cars have launched hybrid cars in their own concepts. Hybrid engine has become a trend, as long as this show is concerned.

SUBARU exhibited electric cars used by Japan Post and Tokyo Electricity Corp. (See photo)

SUBARU electric car used by Japan Post
Ferrari Green Car, Hybrid

To catch up the trends, the luxury sports car manufacturers have also launched hybrid cars.  Both Porche and Ferrari announced their first cars with hybrid engines. (See Photo Ferrari Green Car)

Fans of sports cars with strong engines have a mixed feeling. They like strong cars regardless of CO2 emission levels. At the same time, they also feel it responsibility of manufacturers not to damage the environment. Most of them seemed to think it inevitable, and desirable even though they have to compromise their exicitment with fancy sports cars, that luxury sports car constructors walk with the environmental concerns of the people worldwide.