Toyota hid defect in violation of law, U.S. says

DOT’s LaHood proposes maximum $16.4 million penalty

WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) – Toyota Motor Corp. “knowingly hid a dangerous defect” that caused its vehicles to accelerate unexpectedly, the U.S. said, for the first time accusing the world’s largest automaker of breaking the law.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proposed a record civil penalty of $16.4 million, the most the government can impose. The fine recommended Monday escalates the confrontation between Toyota and LaHood, who initially praised the carmaker for its handling of recalls the company attributed to faulty accelerator pedals.

The fine was announced the week after Toyota reported U.S. sales rose 41 percent in March with the help of no-interest loans and discount leases, signaling the company may be recovering from recalls of about more than 8 million vehicles worldwide — including 1,687,000 in Europe — for flaws that may cause unintended acceleration..

The Transportation Department’s action showed “safety matters and they’re going to be tough as nails,” Joan Claybrook, a former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said in an interview. “That’s very appropriate. They caught Toyota red-handed.” Continue reading Toyota hid defect in violation of law, U.S. says

TOYOTA CITY, Japan – Toyota Motor Corp. convened the first meeting of a global quality task force aimed at winning back customer trust, with President Akio Toyoda pledging to improve safety by handing more authority to local units and reacting more quickly to problems.

The Special Committee for Global Quality, chaired by Toyoda, is one of first countermeasures to Toyota’s worst ever quality crisis. Since last fall, the world’s largest automaker has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles to address unwanted acceleration and other problems.

The committee brings together newly appointed chief quality officers from six regional markets, including North America, to brainstorm ways to restore Toyota’s damaged reputation. The first gathering was held March 30 at the company’s headquarters near Nagoya. Continue reading Toyota pledges bigger voice for regions after first global quality meeting

Toyota Motor Corp. will reduce output capacity of its Derbyshire, UK-based plant in August, the  Nikkei  business daily reported.

The newspaper said that Toyota will shut down one of the two assembly lines and cut capacity by about 120,000 units from 290,000 units.About 750 employees, representing about 20 percent of the workforce, will be offered early retirement, the Nikkei said. Continue reading Toyota to reduce production at UK plant, report says