Toyota Recall Spreads To Europe And China
Toyota Motor Corp extended its safety recall of millions of its most popular cars to Europe and China on Thursday. This adds to the growing list of problems felt by the auto-maker, whose recall in North America alone has caused the company to lose millions of dollars in a short time.
Toyota has spend decades cultivating a reputation for quality; this latest recall is a big blow to that hard-earned reputation. Toyota representatives said the company had not yet determined how many vehicles in Europe would be recalled, or when, but some estimate that it could be between 2 million cars in Europe on top of some 6 million in North America.
Supplier CTS Corp. is the manufacturer of the pedals that are causing the sudden acceleration problems in North America, China and Europe. "Toyota's got the resources to bounce back from this, but this is the biggest crisis that they have ever faced, and Ford and Hyundai and others are coming on strong," said Jim Ziegler, an auto dealer consultant in Atlanta.
The company also offered to replace floor mats or pedals on another 1.1 million U.S. vehicles; said floor mats had been the cause of some pedal problems late last year.
With that voluntary measure, Toyota would be dealing with nearly 6 million U.S. vehicles for accelerator-related problems across its range. A further 2 million in Europe would take the total to 8 million, almost the same as its group global sales last year.
For more information about the rights of individuals seriously injured due to dangerous consumer products, please call John A. Bahe, Jr. directly at (866) 587-0002 or e-mail him at john@bccjlaw.com.
