THE JAPANESE AUTOMAKER SAYS A SOFTWARE GLITCH COULD CAUSE PRIUS HYBRIDS TO STALL.
THE NOTICE AFFECTS 713-THOUSAND VEHICLES IN NORTH AMERICA.
SOUNDBITE (English) Tim Schuld, Managing Director, Equinet Bank:
"Toyota is a forerunner in terms of taking the same products into different cars. And therefore, if they have a problem, it always affects a lot of cars. Every car manufacturer has recalls from time to time, but Toyota tends to have big recalls and big recalls are big problems."
WHILE THIS RECALL INVOLVES A LARGE NUMBER OF VEHICLES--IT'S DWARFED BY THE MORE THAN 14-MILLION TOYOTAS RECALLED STARTING IN 2009. THOSE PROBLEMS INCLUDED FLOOR MATS, GAS PEDALS AND BRAKES.
SOUNDBITE (English) Tim Schuld, Managing Director, Equinet Bank:
"It's a tight race, Volkswagen wants to be the number one as well, GM (General Motors) wants to get the number one again, this recall will definitely not help."
THE COMPANY SAYS THERE HAVEN'T BEEN ANY ACCIDENTS OR INJURIES DUE TO THE CURRENT GLITCH. THE RECALL COVERS CARS MANUFACTURED BETWEEN MARCH OF 2009 AND THIS MONTH.