Currently, media coverage of the Toyota Motor Corporation recall (recalling and repairing vehicles free of charge) is pervasive.

Some of the reports are emotional, and there are shades of Toyota bashing combined with the movements to politicize the issue.

Isao Endo
Professor, Waseda University Business School

Currently, media coverage of the Toyota Motor Corporation recall (recalling and repairing vehicles free of charge) is pervasive. Some of the reports are emotional, and there are shades of Toyota bashing combined with the movements to politicize the issue.

 Nevertheless, the fact is the current recall presents an extremely grave situation for Toyota, as the reigning King of Quality. In November of 2009 in the U.S., a problem involving the accelerator pedal getting caught on floor mats resulted in the recall of 5.55 million vehicles, across 13 models. In January of 2010 in the U.S. and Europe, a total of 4.2 million vehicles were recalled in response to a problem with accelerator pedals getting stuck when pressed down. And in February, problems with the brakes in the Prius were detected in Japan, the U.S., and Europe, resulting in a further recall of 430 thousand vehicles. As this amounts to a total recall of more than 10 million vehicles, it must be regarded as a remarkable situation.

The three pitfalls lurking in the occurrence of quality problems

The question is: how did such a large scale recall as this occur? The answer lies in the three pitfalls lurking in Toyota’s business development up to now.

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