- Kia CEO resigned after 100,000-plus Kia products were recalled for wiring problems.
- Kia's president has been promoted to take his place.
- CEO took responsibility for quality lapses in the affected Kia products.
SEOUL, South Korea — The CEO of Kia Motors has resigned after 100,000-plus Kia products were recalled for wiring problems. Chung Sung-eun quit on Friday after his resignation was accepted by parent company Hyundai and its chairman, Chung Mong-koo. A Kia spokesman quoted by The Wall Street Journal said the Kia CEO took responsibility for quality lapses in the affected Kia products.
Kia Motors President Lee Hyoung-keun has been promoted to take the departed CEO's place.
Kia had announced last week that it was recalling more than 35,000 vehicles in the U.S. and more than 100,000 globally.
The U.S. models were the 2010 Kia Soul and the 2011 Kia Sorento and the recall is for a fire hazard related to accessory lighting inside the vehicles.
Inside Line says: Hyundai-Kia takes a quick and decisive step to stem the tide of criticism about its vehicles' quality. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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tbone85 says:
04:38 PM, 09/13/2010
"But, They never blame JCI. "
Thankfully the executives at Kia and Hyundai have more common sense that to follow such foolish advice. You have no clue if the failure was due to a design, specification, manufacturing, integration, logistics, or other issue problem. Short of a very comprehensive investigation
We have worked with many sub contractors and have subbed business ourselves. There were several occasions where we recommended producing product at a higher quality than our client requested--and been denied. We were very lucky in one instance that it did not result in a product failure.
The person who puts their name on an end product owns the process from front to back. Pointing the finger at a sub contractor (that you selected!) is more evidence of corporate cowardice than organizational responsibility. Blaming the outsourcer simply won't cut it in today's world.
Mistakes happen in every business, it's how you respond to error and adversity that makes the difference. I'm more likely to buy Kia and Hyundai products because of the responsible way they've handled this situation. Had they pointed the finger as you've suggested, many would look upon their products with greater suspicion.
zoomzoomn says:
05:41 AM, 09/09/2010
"So if the Kia CEO steps down because of 100K recall, then the Toyota CEO will probably have to commit suicide at this point." Ain't that the truth! Talk about accountability!
31ejmfdz says:
09:33 PM, 09/07/2010
"Johnson Controls, an American company that supplies interior components for 40 of the world's top manufacturers, recently unveiled a concept car at the Frankfurt motor show that tackled some of the challenges facing interior designers.
The company's interior lighting package, which adjusts mood lighting for the cabin from purple and blue through to pink and orange, is likely to be adopted by other car makers that have already showcased similar themes on concept vehicles.
Virtual instrument panels such as those on the new Range Rover also open up the possibility of changing colour schemes in the same way that you change the look of a computer screen or mobile phone.
The Kia Soul has a red light surrounding the speakers in the footwell, which can pulse with the beat of the music."
http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/car-interiors-of-the-future-20091016-h 0c9.html
"Car interiors of the future Richard Blackburn in Tokyo "
October 17, 2009
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The faulty part designed & manufactured by JCI
31ejmfdz says:
09:32 PM, 09/07/2010
"supplied by JCI and used for the lighting in the Kia Soul vehicle's advanced lighting speakers"
nitrobahn.com/news/kia-recalls-35185-2010-kia-soul-2011-kia-sorento-vehicles-over-fire-risk/
---------------------------
JCI
Johnson Controls, Inc. (NYSE: JCI)
Type Public (NYSE: JCI)
Founded 1885
Headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Controls
johnsoncontrols.com/
---------------------------
Actually, The faulty part was Johnson Controls product.
The faulty part designed & manufactured by JCI
Too bad. Kia CEO resigned by faulty part.
But, They never blame JCI.
ant14 says:
08:55 PM, 09/07/2010
So if the Kia CEO steps down because of 100K recall, then the Toyota CEO will probably have to commit suicide at this point. Kia reliability has improved, but still ends at the bottom ranks of industry standards, while it's Hyundai sister has improved some.
alex38 says:
06:14 PM, 09/07/2010
The CEO stepping down on only 100K vehicles? Seems like 100K vehicles is a drop in the bucket these days w/ Toyota's recall approaching (exceeding 10 million vehicles? I've lost track..) Bottom line: HMC and KIA taking quality VERY seriously.
alex38 says:
06:12 PM, 09/07/2010
Solid prompt action on the recall. Interesting on the stepping down of the President, wow (Kia stock price increased on this announcement). I'm sure other execs have been watching closely and will step efforts to further improve quality so as to keep their jobs.
andy999 says:
05:59 PM, 09/07/2010
Wow, that didn't take very long!!! My understanding is, that the short jumper harnesses in question, which fed power to accessory lighting, had been manufactured and supplied by Johnson Controls. Supposedly, the solder connection points were below KIA's quality standard. I have a feeling, that the replacement harnesses may just be manufactured by Hyundai Mobis, which seems to manufacture just about anything a person could imagine, and has an excellent track record. At any rate, this recall and service response was issued within two to three months of KIA's first identification of the potential problem. That is definitely a quick and efficient response. Other car makers could learn from this very prompt action!!!
jscion says:
05:17 PM, 09/07/2010
In ten years, Hyundai will be the top automobile manufacturer in the world. They watch others including themselves fail and make constant improvements. Are you watching GM, Toyota and Chrysler??? What the hell's your excuse???
davedutton12 says:
04:37 PM, 09/07/2010
Now if only Toyota can do the same. Maybe KIA can buy some government officials like the Japanese do to keep recalls out of the media