|
|
|
(2nd LD) Sales of Toyota plunge in S. Korea amid recall crisis
SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- Sales of Toyota vehicles plunged 33.2 percent last month from December in South Korea as the Japanese automaker reeled from a massive worldwide recall, industry data showed Thursday.
Toyota, which started selling its flagship Camry sedans, RAV4 sport-utility vehicles and Prius hybrids in the Korean market in October last year, sold 441 units of those models in January, compared with 660 units sold in December last year, according to data by the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association.
Last month, Toyota saw sales of its Lexus brand in South Korea also plummet 37 percent from the month before to 320 units, the data showed.
Public relations officials at Toyota's Korean unit were not immediately available for comment.
On Wednesday, the South Korean government ordered Toyota's Korean unit to recall 444 vehicles sold by gray importers or brought in by individuals due to defective gas pedals and floor mats.
The recall did not affect more than 19,000 vehicles imported and sold by Toyota's Korean unit because they did not use the type of accelerator pedal or floor mat covered by the massive recall, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
But officials at the ministry said it plans to launch an in-depth probe into possible defects of vehicles sold by Toyota in South Korea.
Less than two years after Toyota overtook an ailing General Motors Co. as the world's largest automaker, its image has been impacted by the global recall -- which has affected more than 7 million vehicles -- and slow responses to safety fears.
The recall crisis is spreading to Toyota's much-touted Prius hybrids over consumer complaints over their brakes.
"With the Prius mired into the recall issue, the situation facing Toyota is likely to continue for longer than expected," said auto analyst Suh Sung-moon at the Seoul-based Korea Investment & Securities Co.
Meanwhile, overall sales of imported cars in South Korea rose 4.3 percent from a month earlier to 6,377 units in January, the industry association said.
(END)
|
| |
|
|
Home
