Toyota recall affects 7.4M cars. Power window could be fire hazard
| Tokyo
Toyota聽Motor Corp said it would聽recall聽more than 7.4 million聽vehicles聽worldwide as a faulty聽power window switch聽was a potential fire hazard, the latest in a series of setbacks that have dented the reputation of聽Japan's biggest automaker.
The voluntary move is the biggest single聽recall聽since Ford pulled 8 million聽vehicles聽off the road in 1996 to replace defective聽ignition switches聽that could have caused engine fires.
Toyota聽has battled its way back from multiple difficulties since 2008, including a series of recalls involving more than 10 million of its聽vehicles聽in 2009-11, and crippled supply chains from last year's earthquake and tsunami in聽Japan聽and floods in聽Thailand. It posted its biggest quarterly operating profit in four years in April-June.
The firm regained its crown as the world's best-selling automaker in the first half year and expects to sell 9.76 million cars and light trucks globally this year, including the Daihatsu and Hino brands.
More recently, though,听Toyota聽- and other Japanese brands - have seen sales plummet in聽China, the world's biggest autos market, as a result of protests in a simmering Sino-Japanese territorial dispute.聽Toyota聽said on Tuesday that its聽China聽sales fell 48.9 percent year-on-year in September. Sales in聽China聽account for about 12 percent of its total.
聽QUICK FIX
The聽recall, intended to fix a malfunctioning power window switch on the driver's side, primarily affects cars in the聽United States,听颁丑颈苍补听补苍诲听Europe.
Toyota's main rivals in the U.S. include Ford and General Motors Co, while in聽China聽they include聽Volkswagen AG听, Hyundai Motor Co 补苍诲听Nissan Motor Co聽Ltd, and in聽Europe, Hyundai and Nissan.
The聽recall聽will include some聽Yaris聽补苍诲听Corolla聽models, with repairs taking about 40 minutes, the company said.
"The process to repair (the聽power window switch) is not an extensive one," spokeswoman聽Monika Saito聽said, adding that it would involve putting heat-resistant grease on the switches, or exchanging them.
Toyota聽declined to say how much the聽recall聽would cost, or what impact it may have on future earnings.
Koichi Sugimoto, senior analyst at聽BNP Paribas Securities听颈苍听Tokyo, estimated the聽recall聽could cost at least 10 billion yen ($128 million).
"Of course, 7 million聽vehicles聽is a huge number, but it's probably not going to be like last time when customers in the聽United States聽avoided buying聽Toyota聽cars. This sounds like a completely different scale from then," he said.
GLOBAL SCALE
The聽recall聽will include 2.47 million聽vehicles聽in the United States, 1.4 million in聽China聽and 1.39 million in聽Europe, the company said.
No accidents, injuries or deaths have been reported as a result of the problem, though there is a possibility the malfunctioning switches could emit smoke, Saito said.聽Toyota's U.S. news release said the problem could lead to fire if commercially available lubricants were used on the switch.
Toyota聽will聽take in for repair about 459,300聽vehicles听颈苍听Japan, including the聽Vitz聽model, produced between 2006 and 2008.
The firm is also recalling 650,000聽vehicles听颈苍听Australia聽补苍诲听Asia, 490,000 in the Near 补苍诲听Middle East, 240,000 in聽Canada聽and 330,000 elsewhere, said聽Shino Yamada, another spokeswoman for聽Toyota.
The vehicles聽recalled outside聽Japan聽include some models of the聽Yaris,听Vios,听Corolla, Matrix,听Auris,听Camry, RAV4,听Highlander,听Tundra,听Sequoia, xB and xD produced between 2005 and 2010.
The first time the problem was reported was in September 2008 in the聽United States, Saito said.
Shares in聽Toyota聽ended down 1.9 percent, in line with the broader Nikkei index.
