JEDDAH, 5 November 2006 — The recall of cars occasionally adopted by their manufacturers is a “very good move,” as it helps them to improve the product quality, a top Japanese manufacturer said here yesterday.

“The recall of cars in general is resorted to when manufacturing defects come to light after they are sold to customers. It’s a part of the process and should be taken as a move by the manufacturers to set right even a minor manufacturing defect that comes to its notice after a car model is sold in the interest of its customers,” Osamu Masuko, president of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC), told a press conference at the Jeddah Hilton yesterday.

“It (recall process) doesn’t mean that the product is defective or faulty. It only shows how much the manufacturers are keen to provide utmost driving and passenger safety,” he said.

He referred to the company’s strong relations with Alesayi Motors, its sole distributor across the Kingdom, and said: “Alesayi’s network is vast and can satisfy the customers’ demand and needs.”

The MMC intends to expand its presence across Saudi Arabia, as the country remains a very important market for the Japanese car giant as indicated by his second visit to the Kingdom.

“Clearly, the Saudi market is a very important one for the Mitsubishi brand and we see enormous potential for future growth in this part of the world,” said Masuko who first visited the Kingdom around this time last year at the opening of Alesayi’s new showroom in Riyadh.

“The main purpose of my visit is to further improve our understanding of the needs, trends and opportunities and the Mitsubishi can assist in developing and also identifying synergies that will benefit the relationship between the consumer, Alesayi Motors and the MMC,” he added.

The MMC takes the social, environmental, safety and market development responsibilities very seriously and therefore wish to be proactive partners in providing guidance and support for suitable training, infrastructure and market development projects. “This combination ensures the creation of new jobs, introduction of needed expertise, improvement in the level of skills, promoting local investment as well as improving consumer services, which provides an all-round benefit to the Saudi economy,” he said.

Masuko said that the Saudi Japanese Automobile High Institute (SJAHI) established on Jeddah-Makkah Road in cooperation with Japan International Corporation Agency to train young Saudis in automobile technology, is benefiting Alesayi Motors as much as other local car agencies.

Masuko forecast a higher demand for new vehicles in the Kingdom and said that the MMC would introduce new models in the coming years catering to all segments of the market, aside from its recently launched all-new L200 pickup and Galant passenger car.

Saeed Omar Alesayi, deputy managing director and CEO, Alesayi Motors, said the SJAHI was producing 150 to 200 graduates every year. “We’ve been regularly employing some of them in our organization,” he said.