WATCH: US Attorney General Eric Holder slams Toyota over its “shameful” actions
U.S. prosecutors reached a landmark settlement with Toyota Motor Corp on Wednesday, using novel legal tactics to punish the car maker for actions they claimed put “sales over safety and profit over principle.”
The settlement, which will see the Japanese company fork over $1.2 billion and beef up safety-monitoring standards, is the biggest deal struck by an automaker and U.S. authorities on record and caps a four-year criminal probe into fatalities linked to allegedly faulty acceleration equipment in several Toyota models.
The deal dwarfs several times over the response from Canadian officials, who four years ago largely put the matter behind them following Toyota’s voluntary recall of 270,000 vehicles here.
The issue was picked up in civil proceedings, and in August, Toyota Canada Inc settled a class action suit with lawyers representing vehicle owners.
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But terms are diminutive compared to deals struck between Toyota and litigants in U.S. courts, where several deaths allegedly involving Toyota between 2002 and 2010 triggered a string of civil cases.
In Canada, there have been no reported fatalities while the company has said its braking and throttling systems meet the highest standards of safety.
“Reliable scientific evidence and multiple independent evaluations have confirmed the safety of Toyota’s electronic throttle control systems,” the Canadian division said at the time of last summer’s settlement announcement.
Affected vehicle owners in Canada, which include Lexus models, can take part in the settlement and are eligible for their vehicles to be outfitted with new brake override systems “to provide an added measure of confidence,” Toyota said.
There’s also a cash component for those taking part in the Canadian settlement: a payment of $62.50 per claim.
In its statement, Toyota Canada added: “turning the page on this legacy legal issue is in the best interests of the company, employees, dealers and, most of all, customers.”
Canadian officials at Transport Canada were alerted to 17 complaints of unintentional acceleration by drivers of Toyota cars and vehicles over the course of several years leading up until the time of the recall, according to documents from federal committee hearings in the spring of 2010.
Then-Transportation Minister John Baird said his department would investigate whether stronger safety monitoring measures should be imposed on all automakers operating in Canada.
A request to Transport Canada made Wednesday on the outcome of that investigation wasn’t immediately responded to.
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