Sub-standard steel claims have car makers scrambling for answers

CAR makers including Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota are scrambling to discover if they were sold substandard iron used to make car parts including automotive gears in the latest scandal to rock Japan.

Kobe Steel, the third largest steelmaker in Japan, is facing accusations that it may have made up data on up to 20,000 tonnes of metal sold to about 200 clients – including car makers.

It means the company potentially sold steel with strength ratings that didn’t meet the quality standard promised to clients. The company claims the issue could stretch back a decade.

The scandal could also affect Ford and General Motors – behind a Japanese domestic customer, Toyota and Mitsubishi, the US-based car makers are Kobe’s biggest customers.

The Financial Times said Toyota had also found the affected material in the bonnets and rear doors of Japanese-made cars.

“We recognise that this breach of compliance principles on the part of a supplier is a grave issue,” the car maker said.

Nissan, Mazda and Honda have also confirmed they used Kobe Steel products affected by the scandal, and were running further investigations and safety checks, according to the newspaper.

It is not yet known if any cars on Australian roads are affected by the scandal, or how the lower-quality metal would impact owners.

The steel scandal comes in the wake of admissions from Kobe early this week that it had also noticed what it called “improper conduct” in a portion of its aluminium – some supplied for aircraft manufacturing – and copper products, shipped in the last 12 months.