Toyota set for Prius recall
TOYOTA was last night preparing to recall all Prius hybrid cars sold since the start of the year, as the safety crisis engulfing the Japanese company looked set to cost it $4bn (£2.6bn).
More than 180,000 Toyota vehicles have been recalled in the UK because of problems with sticking accelerator pedals. A recall of the 2010 Prius because of braking problems would add a further 300,000 units to the 8m cars already hauled back globally.
Brand Finance, which analyses the values of global marques, yesterday said the affair would wipe more than 10 per cent off Toyota’s brand value of $27bn. Chief executive Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company’s founder, publicly apologised for the mess last week but is seen to have handled the saga ineptly.
It is also thought a recall of Toyota’s high-end Lexus HS250h is imminent. Not on sale yet in the UK, it has sold in its thousands in Japan.