Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker, will install brake override systems by the end of this year in all vehicles the company has sold in China to curb unintended acceleration.
All new vehicles will also come with the software, which cuts engine power when at least moderate force is applied to the brakes while the accelerator is also engaged, the company said today in an e-mailed statement.
Toyota, which has targeted a 13 percent jump in China sales this year, to 800,000 vehicles, has vowed to make similar repairs in its cars worldwide after unintended acceleration was blamed for causing fatal accidents in the U.S. President Akio Toyoda has said China, where passenger-car sales surged 53 percent last year, is a priority for the company.
Toyoda apologized to Chinese customers March 1 for flaws in its RAV4 that led to a recall of 75,552 of the sport-utility vehicles, part of global efforts to repair about 8 million vehicles for possible defects, including cases of unintended acceleration.
Toyota's China sales rose 21 percent to 709,000 units last year and 33 percent in March to 61,200 units.
