內(nèi)部文件曝光，豐田召回或引發(fā)政治丑聞
A Toyota Motor internal document has raised new questions about whether it stalled on a US regulatory response to red flags about its vehicle safety.
A 2009 document turned over to lawmakers shows Toyota's Washington DC staff trumpeting savings of more than US$100 million by convincing regulators to end a 2007 investigation of sudden acceleration complaints with a relatively cheap floor mat recall.
The internal document will add to the high-stakes debate about whether Toyota Motors missed or ignored complaints about sudden acceleration in its vehicles and whether US safety regulators were tough enough.
The claims could create even a bigger challenge for Toyota's president Akio Toyoda who testifies before US lawmakers this week in an effort to contain the safety crisis.
Toyota, in an internal presentation in July 2009 at its Washington office, said it saved US$100 million or more by negotiating an 'equipment recall' of floor mats involving 55,000 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES350 vehicles in September 2007. The savings are listed under the title, 'Wins for Toyota - Safety Group'.
The document cites millions of dollars in other savings by delaying safety regulations, avoiding defect investigations and slowing down other industry requirements.
Meanwhile, Toyota said yesterday that it had received a federal grand jury subpoena for documents related to unintended acceleration and braking that led to the recall of millions of cars in the US.
Toyota and its subsidiaries received a subpoena from the attorney's office for the southern district of New York on Feb 8, the world's biggest automaker said in a statement.
The Japanese carmaker also said it had also been asked by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for documents related to unintended acceleration of Toyota vehicles.
Toyota said it had received a request on Feb 19 to voluntarily submit certain documents from the Los Angeles office of the SEC. US unit Toyota Motor Sales USA separately received a subpoena for related documents, including about the company's disclosure policies.
Toyota said both companies intend to cooperate with the investigations.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing today. Mr Toyoda is scheduled to testify at a separate House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing tomorrow.
滬江小編：一句老掉牙的臺詞再次得到了驗證：出來混，遲早要還的。
- 相關(guān)熱點(diǎn)：
- 六級查分
