Nissan has recalled all its vehicles sold in Japan between October 2014 and September 2017, totalling approximately 1.21 million vehicles, and placed a temporary halt on new car sales in its homeland.

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According to Nissan, these cars "did not meet Japanese market requirements for final inspection" with "certain checks ... carried out by technicians not properly authorised to perform those duties under Nissan’s own processes". Nissan discovered the fault in its inspection regime at the end of last week, and temporarily suspended sales in Japan. On Monday it announced it would begin selling unsold and unregistered inventory beginning on October 3, with these vehicles passing through a re-inspection process at Nissan dealerships. In its estimation there are around 34,000 Nissan-built vehicles, bearing its own badges and those of other car companies, awaiting re-inspection before going back on sale.

Above and below: Nissan Elgrand. In a press conference attended by Reuters and other news agencies, Hiroto Saikawa, Nissan's CEO, said, "We must take the registration framework and procedures seriously, regardless of how busy we may be or how short-staffed we may be". Inspection checks that will need to be re-done include steering, braking and acceleration verification. It's estimated the recall will cost Nissan around 25 billion yen ($280 million). The domestic market vehicle recall encompasses all Nissan cars sold over the last three years, except kei cars produced by Mitsubishi. The recall will get under way later this week once Nissan has submitted its official recall report to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It is expected all recalled vehicles will need to re-inspected at Nissan service centres.

In a formal statement about the affair, the company said: "Nissan regrets any inconvenience and concern this has caused to its valued customers in Japan. Nissan is taking proactive action to resolve this matter." Additionally, the company has engaged a third-party team to help with its investigation into the causes of this regulatory breach and to assist with preventing any future occurrences. Australia Nissan Australia has confirmed with CarAdvice the recall and stop sale only impacts Japanese domestic market vehicles.