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You are here: Home > Current Topics > Wanna Argument? > Dealing with Products and Managers that Fail: Corporate Cyanide and Executive Suicide > Mercedes in 'A Class' of its own |
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Wanna Argument?Dealing with Products and Managers that Fail: Corporate Cyanide and Executive SuicideMercedes in 'A Class' of its own
Image: Mercedes - an example of best practice in handling product safety crises. Copyright: T. Rolf Mercedes' first ever small car, the A-Class, was launched in 1997. The model cost nearly £1 billion in development but notched up sales of 3,000 in its first week on the market. But all was not to run smoothly for the A-Class: shortly after release it was found that the car flipped on to its roof when put through a 40 mph swerve by a motoring journalist. Mercedes recalled all 3,000 A-Class cars and stopped production. They invested a further £140 million, fitting new stability systems onto the vehicle and returned it to the market four months' later. The case is seen by automotive industry observers as an example of best practice in handling product safety crises. |
