Toyota fined $32.4 million in US for mishandling recalls

The US government has slapped a $32.4 million fine on Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp in two cases related to handling recall of millions of defective vehicles last year and earlier this year.

The US Department of Transportation announced the fines late Monday and imposed $32.4 million in civil penalties - the maximum allowed by law.

Toyota will pay $16.375 million for mishandling the recall of nearly five million vehicles with a mechanical problem involving sticking gas pedals that caused vehicles to accelerate unintentionally.
 
The carmaker will also pay $16.050 million in another case for not notifying in time to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about a safety defect that resulted in the loss of steering.

The latest fines come after Toyota, in April this year, agreed to pay $16.4 million to settle a civil penalty demand by the NHTSA for delaying a mass recall of the vehicles with defective accelerator pedals, which, the regulator said, the company was aware of. (See: Update: Toyota agrees to pay $16.4 million fine in US)

"Safety is our top priority and we take our responsibility to protect consumers seriously," said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "I am pleased that Toyota agreed to pay the maximum possible penalty and I expect Toyota to work cooperatively in the future to ensure consumers' safety."

While agreeing to pay the latest fines, Toyota did not admit committing any violations, but the company's chairman and CEO Akio Toyoda earlier testified before the US Congress and apologised for the recalls.