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发帖数: 901 | 1 again and again in US.
Toyota has been fined $32.4m (£20.9m) by the US government for failing
to swiftly recall millions of vehicles with faulty brakes and steering.
The fines are the maximum allowed by law. In April Toyota paid another $16.
4m fine related to the recalls, bringing the total to $48.8m. The latest
fines relate to two separate investigations: one over the recall of nearly
5m vehicles with faulty accelerator pedals that became stuck and a second
involving steering rods that cracked and broke in some models.
Worldwide Toyota has recalled more than 11m vehicles since November 2009,
including popular models such as the Prius hybrid, and Camry and Corolla
saloons.
The fines follow months of investigations that concluded Toyota had failed
to report defects to safety regulators, who found that Toyota began a recall
in Japan over faulty rods but waited a year before conceding US models were
also affected.
Another investigation was prompted by the fatal crash of a California
highway patrol officer, Mark Saylor, and his family. They died after
reporting a stuck accelerator while driving a 2009 Lexus ES 350.
In February Toyota's chairman and chief executive, Akio Toyoda, testified
before Congress. Blasted by politicians, Toyoda said he was "deeply sorry"
for his company's handling of safety scandals. He vowed to overhaul the way
the company dealt with US consumers and regulators.
Toyota said in a statement : "These agreements are an opportunity to turn
the page to an even more constructive relationship" with US safety
regulators.
Ray LaHood, the US transport secretary said: "I am pleased that Toyota
agreed to pay the maximum possible penalty and I expect Toyota to work co-
operatively in the future to ensure consumer safety."
Toyota's recalls have hit US sales. The company has lost ground to companies
including Ford and South Korea's Hyundai. Its US sales are flat this year,
while the rest of the industry is up 13%. Toyota recalled 55,000 vehicles in
September 2007, blaming out-of-position floor mats for its accelerator woes
. But, after the Saylor family's fatal crash, an investigation by the US
regulator, the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA), found
that the pedal itself was poorly designed.
In the second case, the transport department said Toyota recalled Hilux pick
-up trucks in Japan in 2004 after finding steering-rod issues. It told US
safety regulators that there were no reports of problems but a year later
recalled nearly 1m vehicles in the US after telling the NHTSA the steering
defect was present in several US models. Toyota agreed to the fines without
admitting any violation of law. The company is facing a barrage of class-
action law suits over the recalls. |
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