THE Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) is still reviewing Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp.’s (MMPC) appeal against the decision ordering the car maker to recall some of its Montero Sport vehicles.

“It’s still under review but I know that there was already a technical evaluation. As far as I know, Mitsubishi presented itself to the FTEB. They showed that there is no technical defect. They sent in engineers, they sent in other car models, including the Mitsubishi vs. the other brands and compared the distance of the pedals and all that. They showed that there’s no technical defect in the design,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez told reporters last Friday.

To recall, the FTEB began receiving complaints against the Montero Sport for alleged sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) in late 2015.

On May 10, 2017, the FTEB ordered MMPC to stop selling and recall all Mitsubishi Montero Sport automatic transmission models 2010-2015. The car company was also ordered to pay a fine of P300,000.

In its decision, FTEB said it found no basis for any of the claims of SUA in the Montero Sport. However, it noted the said models had a defective pedal placement design, which may be “unsafe.”

Mr. Lopez noted MMPC had filed a motion for reconsideration with the FTEB, and presented evidence to disprove the bureau’s findings.

“There’s no verdict yet. I’m just saying now that part of the (motion for) reconsideration, part of that is the presentation of technical credibility and of course they will say that the decision of FTEB is wrong. That’s why they filed for a motion of reconsideration and if it’s still not solved there, then it will be elevated to the (Trade) secretary,” Mr. Lopez said.

Mitsubishi declined to comment on the matter.

In June, MMPC had said it remained confident of the technical integrity of the Montero Sport models, and “will robustly defend its safety compliance.”

“It is important that the findings of the DTI-FTEB found that there is no basis for any claims of (SUA) in the Montero Sport… No safety-related concerns on SUA have been raised in any other market concerning the Montero Sport (2010-2015) automatic, of which 360,000 units have been sold around the world,” MMPC had said. — A.G.A. Mogato

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