Nissan's Quick Fix Offers a Lesson in Recall Crisis Management

(Bloomberg Gadfly) -- As far as auto industry transgressions go, this one seems pretty light. 

Nissan Motor Co. said it would call back almost all the cars it produced over the last three years in Japan, or about 1.2 million vehicles, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. It could cost the company 25 billion yen ($222 million). 

The number of vehicles is much higher than the piddly 60,000 Nissan originally flagged Friday night after regulators found final inspections on assembly lines at six Japanese plants were carried out by the wrong technicians. Nissan said it believed its inspectors were trained properly but weren't registered with Japan's transport ministry. 

But the misconduct pales in comparison with recent scandals like "Dieselgate," the 11 million diesel cars rigged by Volkswagen AG to cheat emissions testsTakata airbags

Plus, Nissan said the models are safe to drive, have no quality issues, and that the recall won't apply to any cars sold overseas. That helped reverse a stock slide of as much as 5 percent Monday. The shares extended their rebound Tuesday, climbing as much as 1.7 percent. 

If anything, Nissan's prompt response is an indication that at least some executives may be starting to master the art of crisis management after years of safety defects, compliance inquiries and cheating probes eroded confidence in the industry. Or at least public relations 101.

After the initial Friday night news dump, Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa held a press conference Monday to lay out the facts, apologize for the wrongdoing and vow to fix the problem -- personally. He said he would oversee a thorough investigation into what went wrong and have a third-party look into the issue for good measure.

By answering the important questions from the outset, taking responsibility and agreeing to let someone else double check his work, Saikawa effectively told onlookers and regulators alike: "Hey, there's nothing to see here. Move right along."

While not following government inspection rules certainly doesn't deserve a pat on the back, Nissan's reaction -- as long as there's nothing else to this investigation -- will serve as an example of how to artfully handle a mishap.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Shelly Banjo is a Bloomberg Gadfly columnist covering industrial companies and conglomerates. She previously was a reporter at Quartz and the Wall Street Journal.

To contact the author of this story: Shelly Banjo in Hong Kong at sbanjo@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Matthew Brooker at mbrooker1@bloomberg.net.