For sure, the case of reminders stuck with Toyota. The Japanese manufacturer, which is already subject to a sixty complaints from consumers in the United States must now respond to accusations of a U.S. attorney. Tony Rackauckas, Attorney of Orange County, south of Los Angeles has filed suit against Toyota on Friday night.
Toyota was aware
"We affirm the court on behalf of residents of Orange County, that Toyota has knowingly sold cars and trucks with defects responsible for sudden and uncontrollable acceleration of certain vehicles," he said. For the record, Toyota has recalled nearly nine million vehicles worldwide, including six million in the United States because of problems of uncontrolled acceleration and to a lesser extent, defective brakes.
The Prius, the hybrid model, which was the pride of Toyota, has been implicated.A case that forced the group's CEO, Akio Toyoda, to begin a round of apologies, first in the United States and then China. "I fear that the pace at which we developed could be too fast," he admitted before the Commission to monitor and reform the U.S. Congress last February 24.
On behalf of the "consumer protection"
For Tony Rackauckas, the California attorney, the meteoric rise of giant Nagoya is not the underlying problem. He said the acceleration defects affect "hundreds of thousands of vehicles sold in California in recent years." In addition, "Toyota knew these defects but intentionally concealed California consumers."Affirming that his complaint was "first brought to Toyota in the name of protecting consumers' Tony Rackauckas calls for a fine of $ 2,500 for" each violation of the law on unfair trade practices. "
For its part, Toyota has responded quickly. In a terse statement, the manufacturer provides "not having received the complaint" and therefore "not be able to comment on pending litigation." Despite these twists cascade, a survey published Friday by the marketing firm Corporate Research International (CRI) should reassure Toyota.
Customers, however faithful
Indeed, it appears that the group's U.S. customers remain loyal to him. "Only 6.5% of Toyota's current customers surveyed said they no longer buy Toyota because of reminders," concludes the study, conducted among 1640 people between February 19 and March 2.Same observation in Japan, where Toyota cartonne forever. The brand saw its sales increase in Japan in February from 47.9% a year to 146,145 vehicles, according to the Japan Auto Dealers (Jada).