Opinion

Lesson for all carmakers

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-02 14:20

The press conference Toyota chief Akio Toyoda held on short notice Monday in Beijing highlighted the increasing importance of the Chinese auto market.

Days after receiving harsh scrutiny from the United States Congress, the president of the world's largest automaker visited China to reassure consumers about the quality and safety of its cars.

Compared with its response in the US after the Japanese carmaker announced a US recall of about 2.3 million vehicles in January, Toyota's current efforts to salvage its reputation appear more timely.

The company seems to have realized that it must make clear that it will assume no less responsibility for Chinese consumers than for drivers in developed countries.

For Chinese automakers, one lesson they can draw from the recall is that the flawed management of a crisis can make the situation much worse. This is a useful lesson for domestic automakers that are just beginning to build up their own brands at home and have yet to tap into overseas markets.

But more importantly the implication of the Toyota crisis is that quality control can never be overemphasized.

The past success of Toyota once made it a role model for numerous Chinese companies. But now China's quality control regulator has issued notices warning consumers about Toyota vehicles.

Since even a giant can't avoid quality problems, fledgling domestic carmakers have no reason to delay any effort in making their products safer.