Mazda to install brake override systems in new models

Mazda Motor Corp., 11 percent owned by Ford Motor Co., will install brake override systems in all new models after Toyota Motor Corp. recalled more than 8 million vehicles due to reports of unintended acceleration.

Mazda may also “possibly” install the system in updates of existing models, Sho Aoyama, a spokesman for the Hiroshima, Japan-based carmaker, said by phone today.

Brake override systems prevent vehicles from accelerating when the gas pedal and brake are pushed down simultaneously. Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, recalled vehicles globally after reports that sticky gas pedals caused sudden unintended acceleration.

The U.S. government said March 2 the problem has been linked in consumer complaints to 43 crashes that caused 52 deaths and 38 injuries.

Mazda rose 0.4 percent to 235 yen as of 9:15 a.m. in Tokyo trading. The stock has gained 11 percent this year.