The largest car manufacturer in the world – Toyota Motor Corp. announced that it will recall more than half of the Prius vehicles ever sold in order to fix a software error, which may be responsible for slowing down or stopping the car.
Toyota Motor Corp. has been considered as the leader in the global hybrid auto industry. The company has manufactured three generations of its main Prius model. In addition, it has also added some derivatives such as for example the Alpha wagon. The companys spokesman Mr. Lyons said that todays recall involves only the vehicles built over the third generation of Toyotas main Prius model.
Brian Lyons, who is a spokesman of Toyota Motor Corp. explained that about 1.9 million vehicles produced globally since March 2009 will be involved in the recall. According to the company, as of last year, its deliveries of the Prius vehicles line around the world surpass 3.6 million units since its release 17 years ago.
Toyotas spokesman Mr. Lyons also explained that a software error in the hybrid system of the Prius vehicles may cause overheating of some parts in certain driving situations such as accelerating from a stop. This, on the other hand, is possible to lead to the car entering a failsafe mode, in which it can still be driven while at reduced power. In certain limited cases however, the hybrid system is also said to be able to shut down and cause the car to halt completely. Mr. Brian Lyons emphasized on the fact that the company has not received any reports of accidents or injuries related with the software problem in question so far.
Toyota is currently considered as the top seller of hybrid cars in the world. The company is said to be advancing for a record profit this fiscal year, but it is also forced to deal with some recalls that have caused serious injuries on its reputation as a quality leader. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Toyota Motor Corp. recalled more vehicles than any other car manufacturer in the U.S. in each of the last two years.
The president of Fukoku Capital Management Inc. – Yuuki Sakurai said for Bloomberg: “My impression is Toyota is recalling more often, even with very minor flaws” with its vehicles. Toyota learned its lesson from the big recalls in 2009 and 2010.”
Toyota Motor Corp.s shares settled at JPY6 020 in Tokyo on Wednesday, up 0.43% on the day, and their one-year return rate is 25.09% up.
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