Toyota to pay €860m for lying about safety issues

Toyota will pay $1.2bn (€860m) to settle US criminal charges that it lied to safety regulators and the public as it tried to cover up deadly accelerator defects.

The Japanese auto giant eventually recalled 12 million vehicles worldwide in 2009 and 2010 at a cost of $2.4bn as the scandal over sudden, unintended acceleration spread and tarnished its once-stellar reputation.

“Rather than promptly disclosing and correcting safety issues about which they were aware, Toyota made misleading public statements to consumers and gave inaccurate facts to members of congress,” Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters.