Scandal-plagued Mitsubishi Fuso names new president and CEO

Tuesday, May 31st 2005, 8:31 am

By: News On 6

TOKYO (AP) _ Troubled Japanese truckmaker Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus announced a new president and CEO on Tuesday, vowing to regain customer trust as it struggles to recover from a scandal over auto defect cover-ups.

Mitsubishi Fuso, which is 85 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler AG of Germany, said in a statement that current President Wilfried Porth would be replaced on June 27 by Harald Boelstler, vice president of Mercedes-Benz Passenger Car Procurement.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. acknowledged five years ago it had been hiding auto defects for decades to avoid recalls. At that time, the truckmaker was part of the automaker. Past defects have been suspected in two fatal accidents.

The truckmaker said the management change represented a ``shift into the second phase'' of restructuring the company as it bounces back from the recall scandal.

The company ``today is better positioned than ever to move ahead on its course of renewal and compete at the forefront of the Asian and global commercial vehicle market,'' Andreas Renschler, DaimlerChrysler board of management member, said in a statement.

Porth, 46, was sent to Mitsubishi Fuso by DaimlerChrysler in 2003 to lead a turnaround at the truckmaker. He will return to DaimlerChrysler in Europe after helping with the transition to new management, the company said.

Boelstler, 54, has experience in Japan, where he was senior executive office for global procurement and supply for Mitsubishi Motors Corp. from 2001 to 2002.

Despite the turnaround effort, Mitsubishi Fuso still faces recurring troubles. The company has had to announce 38 recalls covering about 220,000 vehicles so far this year alone, the most recent on May 21 for 1,873 buses with defective tail pipes.

In addition, Porth had to apologize in March for being late in reporting a defect suspected in several vehicle fires but denied any intended cover-up.

The problem centered on a defect in a suspension part. No one was injured in the accidents related to the defect, which was estimated to affect about 8,000 trucks. The defect can cause fires or cause a nut to drop off, according to Mitsubishi Fuso.

In the company statement, Porth said the second phase of the truckmaker's recovery would ``be marked by a lasting restoration of trust in Fuso and a return to its successful business in Japan.''

``We are concluding the clean-up of past quality issues and have laid the foundation for a new corporate culture for Fuso,'' he said.

In addition to Porth, the truckmaker announced that Chairman Michio Hori would retire and would be replaced by Keisuke Egashira, director at DaimlerChrysler Japan.