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Japan carmakers vouch for safety of some Kobe Steel parts

TOKYO — Four Japanese automakers on Thursday said they found no safety issues with aluminum parts supplied by Kobe Steel Ltd, allaying some concerns that falsified quality data on products from the steelmaker had compromised their vehicles. Kobe Steel shares surged after the car makers' statements, but the steelmaker still has to contend with a U.S. Justice Department probe, while checks continue at hundreds of companies involved in complex supply chains spanning the globe. Japan's third-biggest steelmaker admitted earlier this month it falsified specifications on the strength and durability of aluminum, copper and steel products, along with materials for optical disks. The falsifications stretch back for more than 10 years, a senior executive told Reuters this week. Since then, global automakers, aircraft companies and other manufacturers have scrambled to identify potential hazards in their products. Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda said that hoods and other exterior parts used in their cars which were made from aluminum directly supplied by Kobe Steel were safe. Kobe Steel shares ended the day nearly 7 percent higher but are still down by more than a third since it announced the data falsification. Automakers are still making checks on other parts, including those that they received through their parts suppliers. "We confirmed that the materials satisfy applicable statutory standards, and our own internal standard, for key safety and durability requirements for vehicles," Toyota said in a statement. Toyota, one of the world's largest automakers, identified aluminum plates supplied by Kobe Steel for the hoods and rear hatches of Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles. Though outside the automaker's specifications, they were still safe to use. While Subaru and other carmakers said they were still investigating the issue, the announcements by Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda suggest that Kobe Steel's cheating scandal may have a limited impact on product safety."SERIOUS SITUATION" Nonetheless, the company's fate hangs in the balance while checks are being carried out. It must report to Japan's industry ministry by around the end of next week on any safety concerns and provide a more extensive account of the problems a fortnight later. Industry leaders have reached a consensus that Kobe Steel is in a "serious situation," a senior Japanese manufacturing executive told Reuters.

Toyota, Mazda partner to build EVs at new $1.6 billion U.S. plant

TOKYO — Toyota and Mazda plan to build a $1.6 billion U.S. assembly plant, the two said on Friday, as part of an alliance that will also see the Japanese automakers jointly develop electric vehicle technologies. The two will take small stakes in each other as part of the tie-up: Toyota, the world's second-largest automaker by vehicle sales last year, will take a 5 percent share of Mazda, extending its dominance in Japan's auto sector. Mazda will take a 0.25 percent share of its larger rival. The plant, something of a surprise at a time of overcapacity in the U.S. market, will be a boost to U.S. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on promises to increase manufacturing and expand employment for American autoworkers. The plant will be capable of producing 300,000 vehicles a year, with production divided between the two automakers, and employ about 4,000 people. It will start operating in 2021. The electric vehicles cooperation, meanwhile, comes as the tightening of global emissions regulations prompts more automakers to develop battery powered cars, as the industry struggles with hefty research costs and intense competition from technology companies over technology like self-driving cars. As part of the agreement, Toyota and Mazda will also work together to develop in-car information technologies and automated driving functions. Toyota, Japan's biggest auto company, has been forging alliances with smaller Japanese rivals for several years, effectively engineering a loose consolidation of the Japanese auto sector. It already owns a 16.5 percent stake in Subaru, Japan's No. 6 automaker, with which it also has a development partnership. Toyota is also courting compact car maker Suzuki to cooperate on R&D and parts supply as Toyota seeks to tap its smaller rival's expertise in emerging Asian markets. A stake in Mazda may also prevent future incursions by tech companies, one analyst said. "For a technology company which lacks the expertise in making cars, Mazda could look like a very interesting acquisition. They're very good, they're not too expensive. Maybe Toyota realizes this," CLSA managing director Chris Richter said. "By buying a 5 percent stake, Toyota takes Mazda off the table rather than having it sit out there like a free agent which could someday be used against them." COROLLA PRODUCTION SHIFT Mazda stands to gain from a deal that gives the small automaker a production foothold in the United States.

J.D. Power dependability survey is out, but you shouldn't depend on it

J.D. Power has just released its latest automotive dependability survey, which of course has usual suspects Buick and Lexus ranking high. Those are safe and solid findings, surely. But when you look a little closer, there are curiosities. Our Consumer Editor, Jeremy Korzeniewski, offered an explanation a couple of years back for why this survey should be viewed with a degree of skepticism, and his take is worth a re-read. What jumped out at Jeremy were the relatively low spots assigned to Mazda, Subaru and Scion among the ranking of makes. Back in 2016 when he wrote his piece, they were ranked 21st, 23rd and 24th respectively. In this year's survey, Mazda ranks 15th and Subaru 26th, both below the industry average of 142 reported problems per 100 vehicles. (And Scion, of course, is in car-brand heaven.) Now, part of what is going on here is surely the fact that all automotive brands are producing dependable vehicles compared with years gone by, so the degree of variance between the best and worst on the list is not as great as it once was. "For the most part, automotive manufacturers continue to meet consumers' vehicle dependability expectations," Dave Sargent, a J.D. Power vice president, said in a statement. "A 9 percent improvement is extremely impressive, and vehicle dependability is, without question, at its best level ever." That said, when a brand like Subaru, regarded by many as mechanically bulletproof, ranks 26th, it leaves people who know cars scratching their heads. Something there does not compute. The problem, as Jeremy pointed out, is one of methodology: When he wrote his piece, there was no weighting assigned to the problems reported in the survey. And that still appears to be the case. Therefore, a problem with an infotainment system or a loose piece of trim is deemed as serious as a blown engine or leaky transmission. (And yes, infotainment is still the biggest problem across the board.) Jeremy's point: If the categories of problems were weighted, you'd see a different picture. When you look at the Consumer Reports brand rankings (subscription required), you get a very different picture. in CR's rankings, Subaru is No. 6 among brands, which, well, sounds a lot more like it. CR singles out the redesigned 2017 Impreza as a car with some new-model problems. (The BRZ had the fewest.) The two surveys jibe a little more closely when it comes to Mazda, which CR ranks 12th, a drop of six places from previous-year rankings.