Toyota says Vietnam cars not affected by global recall

Vietnam is not affected by Toyota Motor Corp’s massive recall of eight models related to unintended acceleration, Toyota Vietnam has said in a letter to local media outlets.

All Toyota Vietnam products are safe and not included in the recall program, the company said.

The faulty accelerator pedals used on Toyota’s eight vehicle models were made by US-based CTS Corp.

Toyota Vietnam declined to confirm whether it used auto parts supplied by CTS, saying its business information needed to remain undisclosed.

The company, however, said some cars of the eight recalled models could have been imported into Vietnam by local companies. Toyota Vietnam is not responsible for such products as it only oversees authorized dealerships, it said.

Toyota Vietnam said it did not have replacement parts for such cars now but promised repairs, with charges, would be offered when parts are available.

Toyota on January 21 recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the US market due to problems with the faulty accelerator.

The Japanese auto maker, which in 2008 dethroned General Motors as the world’s biggest car maker, has now pledged to fix more than eight million vehicles worldwide, more than its entire 2009 global sales of 7.8 million vehicles, AFP reported.

Toyota is the top car seller in Vietnam. It sold 2,212 vehicles in the domestic market last month, a rise of 31.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association.