US car sales suspension may spread

27 January 2010

Toyota's decision to suspend US sales of eight of its most popular models - including the Camry, America's best-selling car - to fix faulty accelerator pedals could spread to Europe.

The sales suspension to fix pedals that stick and cause acceleration without warning has been announced in the US. Toyota recalled the eight models, amounting to 2.3 million vehicles last week.

Toyota is also halting production at six North American car assembly plants, giving no date for a return to production. Although Toyota's Japan plants are unaffected, the problem could spread to Europe, where a similar accelerator part is used, and could affect millions more vehicles.

The problem part comes from one US supplier and does not affect models that use parts from different suppliers, said a Toyota official.

Toyota shares fell 4.3% in Tokyo. Analysts said the production stoppage signalled a more serious crisis for Toyota than recalls, which are fairly routine for car-makers. Yasuaki Iwamoto, auto analyst with Okasan Securities in Tokyo, said: "It's an abnormal situation, and there is no way to compare it with anything else."

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