Subaru Tries To Rebuild Your Trust After Scandals And Quality Issues But It Won't Be Easy
Subaru Corporation has issued a new quarterly status report on measures they will take to prevent the recurrence of the fuel-mileage falsification scandal that rocked the Japanese automaker last year. Torque News reported in March, Subaru would revise its "Quality Policy" on April 1, 2019, because customer confidence had been shaken with the recent problems at Subaru, especially in Japan.
Can they rebuild customer trust after scandals and quality issues?
Subaru continues to deal with the scandal and is trying to let their shareholders and customers know they have “A strong will to not generate inappropriate cases again, repairing facilities related to completion inspections, responding to requests for improvement from completion inspectors, and improving the surrounding environment,” they said in the report. The report has 65 different steps they will take to improve the environment and culture at the Gunma plant.
2020 Subaru Forester
Subaru manufactures the newly-revised 2020 Subaru Forester SUV, second-generation Crosstrek SUV, WRX and WRX STI performance cars, and BRZ sport coupe at the plant in Japan where the problems occurred. Subaru Corporation listed four major areas they will focus on to improve the culture at the Japan factory so it does not occur again.
1. Strengthening the management's awareness of the parties and clarifying responsibility for compliance and quality assurance.
2. Measures to detect and prevent inappropriate work.
3. Build a system to promptly correct any inappropriate work.
4. Measures will be implemented promptly and continue to be used in the future.
Subaru says they will also foster awareness of the norms through ongoing education and enlightenment activities for inspectors. The report says, “Going forward, we will continue to take measures to prevent recurrence and promote a transformation to a workplace culture with a high standard of consciousness. This will lead to the recovery of the trust of all stakeholders, including customers.”
Torque News has documented additional quality issues the Japanese automaker has struggled with recently. Once trust is broken, it’s not easy to get it back.
Subaru has loyal customers, and they know the only way to keep them coming back is by producing quality automobiles like the 2020 Forester, Crosstrek, WRX/STI and BRZ that won’t be in the shop to fix mistakes. Will shareholders and customers see a difference in quality control now that Toyota has increased its stake in Subaru to 20 percent? Stay tuned.
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Denis Flierl has invested nearly 30 years in the automotive industry in a variety of roles. All of his reports are archived on our Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Subaru Report. Check back tomorrow for more Subaru news and updates!
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Photo credit: Subaru