Prius Hybrid Cars In Japan Likely To Be Recalled By Toyota (TM)
February 08, 2010 9:22 AM
Toyota Moto Corp. (NYSE: TM) is likely to recall Prius hybrid cars of the 2010 version in Japan this week. The move is to address issues related to faulty braking systems, which will pile on to the 8 million vehicles already recalled by the embattled company worldwide, for other faults.
Toyota is expected to recall as many as 270,000 of the hybrids in the US as well as in Japan. It may be recalled that the company has already lost $33 billion in market cap due to an unprecedented recall of its cars around the globe. These recalls have tarnished the reputation of a company that has a history of priding itself on its stellar quality levels.
Recalls of Toyota cars are yet to touch Japan, and if it starts recalling Prius cars in Japan, its reputation could be further impacted negatively. “It’s really shocking,” said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo. “The damage to Toyota will be big.”
