Life for one of the world’s leading car manufacturer’s, Toyota, has been a little tough recently. After hitting the news recently in relation to their India factory strikes and employments issues (please see our blog), they are unfortunately back in the world’s eye. This time Toyota have been required to settle an on-going issue in the USA, relating to a series of recalls dating back to 2009.
According to the BBC Toyota have now reached a settlement of approximately $1.2bn, or £720m, to compensate for a series of issues relating to key safety features on vehicles, such as brakes and accelerator pedals.
The Attorney General who had been leading the case expressed grave concerns for Toyota’s approach to these apparent issues, believing that the manufacturer was more intent on misleading the public and Congress rather than resolving the issues.
According to reports, Toyota will fully admit to their wrongdoing and look to work on resolving their reputation. The US government’s approach has certainly shown that safety of passengers should not be compromised in relation to recalls. While a recall will have negative consequences for any car maker’s image, the risk to both reputation and finances is a big one to carry as they are now finding out.