By Mari Saito and Chang-Ran Kim
Toyota said on Thursday it would call back 190,000 more vehicles to replace potentially defective air bags made by Takata Corp, and Japan’s regulator said it may change its recall system to better respond to what it called an “unprecedented” crisis.
Honda has begun sales of the all-new Grace hybrid sedan at dealerships across Japan. The Grace is equipped with Honda’s Sport Hybrid i-DCD one-motor hybrid system that enables the driver to start in EV mode and realizes fuel economy of 34.4 km/L (81 mpg US or 2.9 l/100 km) under the JC 08 mode—best among all hybrid sedan models in the Japanese market.
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Japan’s transport ministry said Friday it has ordered air bag maker Takata to conduct an internal investigation after cases of its air bags exploding triggered safety concerns in the United States and other countries.
Toyota will be testing electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Aichi Prefecture, Japan from 1 November until 15 March 2015. The tests will involve standard chargers for use with vehicles such as plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) and electric vehicles (EVs).
The tests will be conducted jointly with four municipalities (Kariya City, Toyota City, Toyohashi City, and Nagakute City) and two companies (Toyota Industries Corporation and UNY Co., Ltd.), all of which are located in Aichi Prefecture. Toyota conducted similar tests in FY2012 and FY20131.
Honda’s April-June operating profit rose 7 percent from a year earlier to 198 billion yen ($1.94 billion), as lower sales in the United States were offset by costs cuts and the company’s stronger focus on Asian markets.
