Toyota is to recall almost half a million hybrid cars worldwide, including 8,500 of its Prius model in the UK, in the latest blow to the carmaker´s reputation following a string of safety scares.
The recall will begin immediately in Japan and similar measures are being prepared overseas, the firm said today. Toyota GB announced that the recall will apply to 8,500 owners of the third-generation Prius in the UK. It will send individual letters to all those owners explaining details of the recalls, which will involve a 40-minute software update to the car´s braking system.
Today´s announcement follows about 200 complaints in Japan and the US over a software glitch in its best-selling Prius petrol-electric hybrid that can cause temporary brake failure at low speeds on bumpy or icy roads.
“I apologise for causing trouble and worries for many customers over the quality and safety of Toyota,” its embattled president, Akio Toyoda, told reporters in Tokyo today, his second public apology in less than a week.
“We sincerely acknowledge safety concerns from our customers. We have decided to recall as we regard safety for our customers as our foremost priority. We will redouble our commitment to quality as a lifeline of our company. We will do everything in our power to regain the confidence of our customers.”
Toyota GB pointed out that so far there had been no reports of accidents linked to the problem in Europe. Toyota´s Japanese headquarters informed the country´s transport ministry of the recall of 223,000 hybrid cars in Japan across four models: about 200,000 of the 2010 Prius model and much smaller numbers of the Prius plug-in hybrid, the SAI and the Lexus HS250h.
It said it would take remedial measures concerning a further 213,000 hybrid cars outside Japan, including the US and Europe, taking the total number of vehicles affected to around 437,000.
The new Prius is sold in about 60 countries, with sales totalling more than 300,000 vehicles since the first models were rolled out last spring.
Toyota, the world´s biggest carmaker, is already faces criticism following the recent recall of more than 8m cars worldwide affected by potentially dangerous acceleration problems. The Prius, the world´s most popular hybrid, was Japan´s top-selling car last year and hailed as the ultimate in green auto technology. But mounting fears over its safety could unravel Toyota´s attempts to dominate the growing market in fuel-efficient vehicles.
In the US Toyota is battling to save its reputation in the face of lawsuits linked to accidents, an investigation by highway authorities and mounting criticism of its handling of the crisis by the Obama administration. The brake defect has been responsible for four crashes in which two people were injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has launched an investigation. There have been no reports of similar accidents in the UK.
The recall of the Prius represents a worst-case scenario for Toyota now that safety doubts surrounding its cars have spread to its hitherto fiercely loyal customers in Japan.
“Toyota has been, beyond any doubts, the top player in hybrid car segment, and the fact that Prius and other hybrid models will be part of this massive recall significantly dents its image,” said Suh Sung-moon, an analyst at Korea Investment and Securities in Seoul.
Toyoda, the grandson of the company´s founder, promised to work closely with US regulators following criticism that the company had only recalled cars with faulty accelerators under pressure from the US government.
“I have spoken with US transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, and given him my personal assurance that lines of communications with safety agencies and regulators will be kept open, that we will communicate more frequently and that we will be more vigilant in responding to those officials on all matters,” Toyoda wrote in today´s Washington Post. He said the firm was working around the clock to fix the problem, but conceded that it needed to do more to regain the trust of American drivers. “We are taking responsibility for our mistakes, learning from them and acting immediately to address the concerns of consumers and independent government regulators.”
Toyota said it had fixed the software glitch responsible for the braking problem in Prius models that went on sale from late last month, but had yet to repair models sold before then. The admission that it had started fixing the brake glitch about a week before it went public with the problem has prompted allegations of a cover-up. The firm will start informing Japan dealers immediately about the glitch, which takes about 40 minutes to repair.
Industry watchers said Toyota´s handling of the recalls had seriously damaged its brand image. “Until the recent crisis, Toyota was the best performing and most valuable car brand in the world,” said David Haigh, the chief executive of Brand Finance, a UK consultancy, adding that the Prius had “put Toyota right at the leading edge of the green car movement”. He added: “Sadly, the inept way Akio Toyoda and his management team have handled the recent crisis has massively damaged the brand.”
The firm has been widely criticised for failing to deal more quickly with the defects. It took almost two weeks for Toyoda, who was made president last summer, to comment publicly after the accelerator recall was announced last month.
The company is also anticipating a flurry of lawsuits in the US over the brake problem, in addition to those already filed in connection with “sticky” accelerators. Today it was reported that the owner of a 2010 Prius has sued Toyota in Los Angeles, claiming that the company had failed to fix the brake defect. Toyota´s North America chief executive, Yoshimi Inaba, is due to come under pressure to explain his firm´s poor handling of the recall when he testifies in front of a congressional committee in Washington tomorrow.
Source: Guardian
The liveeco team
