Toyota to shut UK plants as $100m 'cheap fix' deal emerges

Stop: Burnaston will close for the installation of new production lines
11 April 2012

The Toyota safety scandal deepened today as officials were accused of boasting about saving the company $100 milion (£64.6 million) by negotiating a relatively cheap fix for problems with certain models' acceleration back in 2007.

Documents handed over to a Congressional committee show Toyota's Washington DC staff claiming to have saved the money by getting regulators to accept a cheap floormat recall rather than a more detailed assessment of the accelerator problems.

The company has recalled 8.5 million cars for problems including sticky accelerators, accelerators that get jammed down by loose floormats and a braking glitch.

US regulators believe five deaths are associated with floor mats and are reviewing up to 29 other fatalities to see if they are related to accelerator malfunctions.

The $100 million savings are listed under the title, "Wins for Toyota — Safety Group". The document cites other savings worth millions of dollars by delaying safety regulations, avoiding defect investigations and slowing down other industry requirements.

The revelations come as Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda arrived in Washington in order to testify to Congress this week. He will face questions about whether the company put profits ahead of customers' safety.

Toyota said in a statement: "Our first priority is the safety of our customers and to conclude otherwise on the basis of one internal presentation is wrong. Our values have always been to put the customer first and ensure the highest levels of safety and quality."

The group confirmed today that it would shut its British factories for a fortnight around the Easter weekend as it struggles to cope with a drop in sales.

Toyota said the Derbyshire factory, which has 3,500 employees, and the Deeside engine plant, with 500, will close for eight working days in late March and early April.

The firm said the shut-down was planned several months ago and would be used to introduce new production lines for a hybrid version of the Auris car.

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