Toyota has agreed to pay a $16.4m fine, the biggest ever imposed on a carmaker, for failing to notify US authorities promptly about defective accelerator pedals in more than 2m of its vehicles.
The world's biggest carmaker said yesterday that it would pay the fine “to avoid a protracted dispute and possible litigation.”
However, it denied that it had violated the US Safety Act or government vehicle-safety regulations. “We have acknowledged that we could have done a better job of sharing relevant information within our global operations and outside the company,” Toyota said. But “we did not try to hide a defect to avoid dealing with a safety problem”.