A Toyota Prius hybrid automobile is seen on the second press day of the Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday. Toyota has recalled more than 8.5 million gasoline-electric hybrid autos worldwide, including the Prius, to fix a brake software glitch. Antoine Antoniol / Bloomberg News

Over 90% of 270 recalled Toyota vehicles have received free upgrade to correct brake software glitch

Since Toyota announced the recall of a total of 270 third-generation Prius vehicles with a potential brake failure problem in Hong Kong, over 90 percent of the cars have received a free upgrade for their anti-lock braking system software. Nonetheless, the impact of the recalls in the automobile market remains a concern.

Crown Motors, the distributor of Toyota in Hong Kong, confirmed yesterday, three weeks after the recall announcement, that less than 10 percent of the Prius vehicles in the city have not upgraded their braking system software, with 45 percent of the cars having scheduled and finished the upgrade in the first week.

However, the distributor declined to comment on whether its sales situation was affected by the recall, maintaining that it is still too early to evaluate the impact. It stressed that Toyota remains popular and that January sales ranked first within Crown Motors.

Calvin Law, a loyal Toyota customer who has been driving the company's car for about 10 years, said the incident won't diminish his confidence in the brand, since the company contacted him very soon after the recall.

"After the recall, they called me once to check with me whether there was any problem with my car and I told them there wasn't. Later, I saw news about the recall on TV. Soon, they called, telling me there was a chance of a brake problem and that the car needed an upgrade," Law said. The timely follow-up arrangements forestalled any sense of panic, he said.

A man surnamed Leung, however, stated he may rule out buying a Toyota now, as he ponders his first automobile purchase ever. The recall made him very cautious.

Matt Cheng, a senior professional in the advertising industry, revealed that Toyota suspended its entire Hong Kong Prius marketing campaign after the recall issue emerged. "What it should do now is to win back people's trust," he said.

He estimated the company has to face a significant impact on sales, especially for the coming two months. "A well-known company like Toyota made such a big mistake. The market is sensitive. Toyota will certainly sustain huge financial losses," he said.

So far, no complaint of safety problems about Toyota cars has been reported in Hong Kong. The recall arrangement is only to reassure Toyota's customers, Crown Motors stressed.

"Mapo tofu in China, Japan and the US is still called mapo tofu, though the taste is somewhat different," Toyota president and CEO, Akio Toyota, said at a Beijing press conference on Monday, adding, "To compare cars to food is probably not the best example, but we hope everyone can understand that when we make cars, we factor in regional differences in road conditions, consumer habits and usage criteria."

Toyota has recalled more than 8.5 million gasoline-electric hybrid autos worldwide, including the Prius, to fix a brake software glitch. The Japanese company has lost about $31 billion in market value since the January 21 recall news broke.

(HK Edition 03/04/2010 page2)