Toyota Commitment to Action Yields Results

KEY POINTS

• Toyota’s UK recall programme reaches two-thirds completion in just six weeks
• Toyota USA investigations cast doubt on driver’s out-of-control Prius claim
• Members return to full-time working at Toyota’s UK factories
• Preparation for summer launch of UK- built full hybrid Auris HSD
• Toyota maintains strong new car sales performance in February, up more than 15 per cent
• Prius sales for the month more than 200 per cent up on previous February record
• Demand for new Toyota cars throughout March continues to be strong

Toyota continues to make strong progress with its UK recall programme with more than two thirds of the total vehicles affected successfully fixed in just six weeks. At the same time sales of new Toyota vehicles remain healthy and an overwhelming majority of customers have declared themselves satisfied with the recall procedure.

Recall statistics
By today almost 119,000 vehicles have received the adjustment to avoid the risk of a sticking accelerator pedal, equivalent to more than 66 per cent of the total number that are subject to the recall.

An even greater proportion of Toyota Prius have had their braking software amended: more than 6,800 cars or about 70 per cent of the total.

The rapid progress has been made possible thanks to the commitment and hard work of the teams at Toyota’s network of more than 200 dealerships around the country.

Toyota USA investigations cast doubt on driver claims
In the USA Toyota continues its rigorous investigation of reported safety incidents with its vehicles. Its initial technical field test of a Toyota Prius which the owner claimed accelerated out of control while driving on a San Diego Interstate highway – an incident recorded in dramatic camera footage that was broadcast worldwide – has found no performance problems with the car’s accelerator, brakes, shift lever or start-stop control button.

The field test was observed by a US congressional staff member. Toyota says its preliminary findings are inconsistent with the driver’s account of what happened and that his story should be examined further.

Toyota UK factories return to full-time working ahead of Auris HSD launch
Toyota is one of Britain’s leading car manufacturers and earlier this month announced that members will return to full-time working in April at its Burnaston factory in Derbyshire, where it builds Avensis and Auris models, and at its engine plant at Deeside, North Wales.

Immediately prior to the change in work pattern, the week commencing 29 March has been designated for non-production working at the site to allow for preparations to ready the plant for volume manufacturing of Toyota’s new full hybrid Auris HSD.

This ground-breaking new car will be launched this summer and it will be the first hybrid model from any manufacturer to be built in Europe. Its petrol engine will be supplied by the Deeside factory.

A second non-production week will follow before the resumption of full time production in the week commencing 12 April.

Toyota UK sales strong, recall customers “satisfied”
Toyota has maintained healthy new car sales since the recall programme was launched. In February 3,439 new Toyota cars were registered, a rise of more than 15 per cent on the same month in 2009, reflecting continued customer confidence in the Toyota brand. The demand for new Toyota cars throughout March continues to be strong with the official sales results to be released early next month.

Prius posted particularly impressive results, the 538 units sold being comfortably more than double the previous record February total for the full hybrid model.

As previously reported, Toyota’s survey of around 600 owners who have had their cars attended to shows that 96 per cent were satisfied with their experience of the recall process.

ENDS