Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 74 The Brake Door Arrives Early

The confinement bends and illuminates Kyushu, some families are happy and some are sad.

Cao Yang was happily visiting the purchasing and technical departments of General Motors and Ford Motor Company.

But Tetsuaki Kobayashi, the head of Toyota Motor's North American headquarters, looked sad at this time.

In order to conquer the North American market, Toyota naturally has dedicated personnel in the United States to keep an eye on public opinion.

It’s not like they didn’t notice the news that the Camry’s brakes couldn’t stop.

But I feel that this is just a related report on individual car accidents, and it does not attract enough attention.

However, when NHTSA officially stated that it would investigate Toyota Motor, Tetsuaki Kobayashi felt that something was wrong.

Before Toyota could figure out what was going on internally, various related public opinions had already fermented in the media.

Whether it is traditional newspapers, emerging Internet media such as Yahoo, or TV stations, they all report on Toyota's failure to brake.

The term "brake door" has officially entered the public eye.

"Xiao Lin-san, what's going on?"

"Why did such a big mess happen in just one week?"

After Fujio Zhang, who was very concerned about the American market, had a preliminary understanding of the situation, he immediately flew to the United States with the design director Atsoo Fukuichi overnight.

This puts even greater pressure on Kobayashi Zheming and the others.

"President, the company is also checking internally to see if there is any problem with our brakes."

"From what we know so far, there is no obvious evidence that these car accidents are related to our defective parts."

Although he was under great pressure, Kobayashi Zheming still had to work hard to deal with the president's questions.

"Is it possible that there is no problem with the design itself, but there is a problem during the production of the parts?"

"For example, the brake pedal and accelerator pedal, do they really meet the drawing requirements?"

"Are the local suppliers in the United States cutting corners?"

As the design director, Atsoo Fukuichi naturally does not want the problem to lie in his department.

So the first point he made was that there was something wrong with production.

In order to cope with the rapid increase in sales in the United States, many parts of Toyota vehicles are purchased locally.

Toyota is famous for its strict cost control.

This method is not a big problem among Japanese suppliers who pursue excellence.

But in the United States, it is entirely possible for people to cut corners in order to meet cost targets.

Obviously, Atsoo Fukuichi was aware of these situations.

"In this regard, people from the quality department have also gone to the supplier's site to confirm."

"This possibility cannot be completely ruled out, but I think the probability is not very high."

When Tetsuaki Kobayashi said this, Atsoo Fukuichi was not very happy.

"Then according to Chief Kobayashi, the inability of the brakes to stop is a design problem?"

"The brake pedals and accelerator pedals of several of our models are shared. If this is really a design problem, there will be a large-scale recall."

"If we change the design and problems still occur, the situation will become even more troublesome."

When Atsoo Fukuichi said this, Tetsuaki Kobayashi's pressure became even greater.

"We spend so much money on advertising in various media every year. Do they not inform us when such negative news comes out?"

Zhang Fujifu felt even worse as he listened to the argument between his two capable subordinates.

Now is the critical moment for Toyota to "catch up with Ford and surpass General Motors", but there is such a big mess here in the United States.

"President, normally, if those newspapers that have advertising cooperation with us want to publish relevant negative reports, they will say hello to us."

"But this time it's a bit strange. The other party didn't make any moves."

"We also asked colleagues from the marketing department to communicate, but their attitude was very formulaic."

When Zheming Kobayashi said this, Fujio Zhang immediately frowned.

To be able to rise from an employee with little background to the position of president of Toyota Motor, Fujio Cho's brain is definitely very useful.

From such a small detail, he felt something was wrong.

There's an air of conspiracy in it.

"Xiaolin-san, according to your analysis, is the speed of public opinion development of 'brake door' this time normal?"

Although he had some guesses in his mind, Fujio Zhang did not speak out immediately.

"It's not normal, it's not normal at all." Zheming Kobayashi shook his head and said, "Even Ford's 'Firestone Tire Door' some time ago took a long time to ferment in public opinion before it had the final effect."

"It's unlike this time. In less than a week, it seems that the entire American people know about it."

"Judging from feedback from dealers in various places, the number of customers visiting sales stores has dropped significantly."

"President, I think there may be competitors behind this matter."

"GM, Ford and Chrysler all have this motive, and even Honda, Nissan and Hyundai may be involved."

When Tetsuaki Kobayashi said this, Fujio Zhang immediately said angrily, "You just realized now that a competitor was involved in this matter?"

"It is inevitable that other manufacturers will add fuel to the fire."

"What I want to know most is whether this matter was planned by an opponent behind the scenes."

When Fujifu Zhang said this, Zheming Xiaolin immediately became nervous.

"President, no...that's not the case, right?"

"No matter who does this kind of thing, it is an industry taboo."

To say that there are competitors adding fuel to the flames after Toyota's accident, Tetsuaki Kobayashi believes it.

But he still doesn't believe that "brake door" was specially planned by someone.

"Don't imagine that America's opponents are too noble."

"Their bottom line is much lower than you think."

Fujio Zhang obviously understands the situation in the United States quite well.

However, this doesn't solve the problem.

"Then what should we do now?"

"Will you cooperate well with NHTSA's investigation?"

Xiao Lin Zheming is a little panicked now and doesn't know how to deal with this situation.

Toyota has been developing in the United States for so many years, and this is the first time it has encountered such a crisis.

"Is it okay if I don't cooperate?"

"You must have a better attitude."

"But without evidence, mistakes that should not be admitted must not be admitted."

"The best thing is for each department to analyze it as soon as possible and find a few reasons that everyone can accept, such as a problem with the brake pads or poor installation of the carpet next to it."

"It would also be good to give consumers an explanation and give NHTSA a step down."

"Let this matter pass as soon as possible."

Fujio Zhang has a clear mind.

It is definitely not possible to fight NHTSA head-on, but we cannot admit our mistakes completely.

It is undoubtedly the best to find a plan that everyone can use.