US fines Toyota again over safety issues

Toyota has agreed to pay an almost 25 million euro fine to the US government for safety problems with some of its cars.

That brings the total amount it has paid in fines this year to nearly 38 million and follows investigations into the Japanese carmaker’s handling of a series of vehicle recalls.

The stemmed from complaints of problems with brakes and unintended acceleration.

The recalls hurt sales and tarnished Toyota’s once impeccable reputation for quality.

US safety officials said this fine was because initial action taken by Toyota to address earlier problems with steering components was insufficient and that it took too long to notify regulators, as it was required to do by law.

Toyota stressed it had agreed to the fines by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration without admitting any violation of law.

So far this year, Toyota has recalled about 6.75 million vehicles for a range of problems including top-selling models like the Camry and Prius.

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