TOKYO, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Subaru Corp. on Thursday filed a recall of around 395,000 vehicles with Japan's transport ministry after it came to light that the carmaker had routinely allowed unqualified staff to conduct final vehicle checks.
The uncertified checks at two of the automaker's facilities in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo, date back as far as 30 years, an internal prove revealed.
All nine of Subaru's models are listed in the recall, including a sports car Subaru manufactured for Toyota Motor Corp.
The size of the recall has ballooned from an initial estimate of 255,000 units to around 395,000 vehicles as the automaker has struggled to determine exactly which vehicles were checked by uncertified staff.
Subaru President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga told a press conference recently that the malpractice was conducted in a systematic manner.
Subaru permitted workers without the requisite certification to perform parts of the safety inspections and use stamps of authorized inspectors at two plants in Ota in southeastern Gunma Prefecture, insiders with knowledge of the matter have said.
They added that temporary permits were also issued to the workers still undergoing training, who carried out final vehicle checks.
Subaru, whose corporate name was Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. until April this year, is known for producing the popular Crosstrek, Outback, Forester and Impreza models of vehicles.
Last week, Subaru slashed its full-year group earnings forecast for the current business year owing to costs associated with the inspection scandal.
The Tokyo-based automaker reported that it now expects its group operating profit to come in at 380 billion yen (3.36 billion U.S. dollars), with 10 billion yen (88.3 million U.S. dollars) allocated to deal with the scandal.
The maker of the popular Legacy and Toyota's "86" sports model also cut its group net profit outlook from 228.5 billion yen (2 billion U.S. dollars) to 207 billion yen (1.8 billion U.S. dollars) on sales of 3.38 trillion yen (29.8 billion U.S. dollars). Subaru's previous estimate was for sales of 3.42 trillion yen (30 billion U.S. dollars).
The scandal at Subaru comes on the heels of revelations that Nissan Motor Co., Japan's second-largest automaker, had also been involved in inspection practices that also did not meet transport ministry standards.
The improper inspections led to the automaker issuing a domestic recall of some 1.2 million cars sold in Japan over the past three years and a suspension to production of domestic automobiles.
Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii said that such negligence of compliance is undermining the nation's regulatory system.
The Japanese government has since stepped up its overseeing of a number of manufacturers here, including Kobe Steel, itself mired in a data standard fabrication scandal that has contributed to diminishing global faith in Japan Inc.'s once stellar reputation for precision manufacturing.
