Date Published: 02/06/10

Nigerian Manufacturers and the Toyota Experience By Nwosu Chukwuemeka O.

Toyota, the top-selling car manufacturer in the closing week of January 2010 announced two safety recalls that cover some of its models and suspended US sales of eight models. Customers customers were unable to buy models such as the Camry sedan and Corolla for the last five days of the month.

Recall campaigns address conditions related to the accelerator pedal. The first recall, "Floor Mat Entrapment," regards the potential for an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat to interfere with the accelerator pedal and cause it to get stuck in the wide-open position.

The second recall, "Pedal," is being conducted because there is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position.

As part of the recall campaign, new car sales of vehicles subject to the pedal recall have been temporarily suspended until the problem is remedied.

In addition, Toyota temporarily halted production at some of the company's North American plants to focus resources on remedying recalled vehicles. The company, according to its managing officer, Hiroyuki Yokoyama, took this unprecedented action because it's the proper thing to do.

The number one car manufacturer confirmed its estimate that it would lose about $2bn (£1.23bn) in costs and lost sales from this worldwide recall.

Manufactured by a Toyota joint venture in the port city of Tianjin, the problematic cars are all fitted with unsafe gas pedals made by CTS, the firm that manufactured the potentially faulty parts found in the recalled models. Recently, Ford, another car manufacturer has also stops production of Transit in China over accelerator pedal issue.

Potential buyers considering the purchase of Toyota vehicles had dropped by more than 20 per cent since the recall but this was preknown to the company which knows that the recall was the proper step to take. With the recall, Toyota will witness unprecedented patronage in the months ahead.

This move by the company which is part of a worldwide recall of more than 8 million Toyota cars that might suffer from one malfunction or the other has drawn praise from many Nigerians who compare this Japanese company’s decision with the 'normal' Nigerian practice.

Low supervision by government's quality controllers does not guarantee a product recall. In few cases where manufactured goods are proved to to below standard, most producers in Nigeria will quietly make their withdrawals, repackage the substandard product, and put it back on sale.

This brings the efforts of the Standards Organisations of Nigeria as well as other supervising organs of state to nought. China, one of Nigeria's trading partner is also widely guilty of releasing substandard products into the market. Thus, an average Nigerian believes every substandard product in Nigeria is from China. This stereotype has not helped the reputation of China as a developed economy and one of the largest trading partners of Nigeria. It has also led to the continued loss of confidence of the Government and people of Nigeria in made-in-China goods.

In spite of all odds many Nigerian enterprenuers have subjected their products to the tedious process of certification as a means of assurance to their consumers and as a tool of competitiveness locally and across the Nigerian borders.

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria should be more patriotic, committed and alive to its responsibility of protecting Nigerians from the dangers associated with substandard products. It's quality assurance function should go beyond seizing and destroying at the ports.. The government of Nigeria and its agents through diligent implementation of proper inspection, conformity assessment, certification and surveillance of all goods made in Nigeria and those exported from overseas will substantially improve the quality and safety of goods in the country.

The Nigerian government should also go further than prosecuting perpetrators of sub-standard goods importation, manufacture, distribution and sales - to educating culprits on the dangers of their action. For when a people is educated, their orientation change for the positive.

*Nwosu Chukwuemeka O.

Haaba Communications Limited

Lagos, Nigeria

www.haaba.com