Toyota Motor will disclose more information on safety repairs it carries out that are not the subject of recalls amid growing criticism that the automaker has covered up complaints about its best-selling Prius hybrid, company officials said on Friday.
Automakers often make changes to new models in response to customer feedback, but such repairs are not usually publicised. But Toyota has decided to publicise information on the repairs it makes to core functions such as braking and acceleration, even if the vehicles concerned are not the subject of a recall or a safety campaign, the officials told Kyodo News.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
When automakers carry out a mandatory recall or voluntary repair in a safety campaign, they are required to disclose the information to the Japanese transport ministry or through their homepage.
Toyota has come under intense scrutiny both at home and abroad after it was discovered that the automaker had been repairing the latest model of its Prius hybrid on a customer-by-customer basis following dozens of complaints it has received over brake problems.
Earlier this week, it announced a recall of about 437,000 vehicles globally to fix brake problems in its new Prius and three other hybrid models.
