Japanese automakers have always been associated with quality and workmanship, backed up by strict manufacturing standards. However, conditions surrounding the industry could soon force legacy brands like Toyota to adapt by loosening up these very same standards.
As reported by Nikkei Asia, the Japanese automotive industry will soon draft and adopt a new shared policy containing agreed-upon definitions of acceptable component quality. This will see manufacturers accept and use components with minor cosmetic imperfections that otherwise function as normal.
The ongoing war in the Middle East is one of the main drivers for this policy change. Conflict has choked not just the supply of fuel, but also the flow of raw materials needed by automakers. In response, the industry is curbing excessive quality control standards to improve parts yields and minimize waste.
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Take for example a part not typically seen by a driver while inside a vehicle such as a plastic cable connector hidden behind a dashboard. Current practice sees parts with visual blemishes like minor discoloration or rough edges discarded despite being usable as normal, as well as being invisible to the end user. Under the new policy, this imperfect part will instead pass quality control and be used inside a car. It is also believed that the new standards will shorten inspection time and lead to faster turnaround times for completed vehicles.
Besides supply-line disruptions from the Middle East, the rise of Chinese rivals has also urged an industry-wide response from Japan. The Chinese automotive industry has proved itself as capable of producing cost-effective, high-quality alternatives to Japanese brands, taking away market share from legacy brands across many markets.
The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Japan Auto Parts Industries Association are the entities drafting the new policy. Japanese brands familiar to customers such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, Recaro, and Yamaha are members of these associations.
As the policy is still a work in progress, it will take some time before vehicles produced under the loosened quality control standards arrive in the market.
Once the final policy has been drafted, its standards will be applied in phases throughout the rest of the year. It is currently unclear whether these standards will also be applied to global manufacturing and assembly locations outside of Japan, such as Thailand and India.
