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TOKYO : Japanese automaker Toyota said Thursday it was suspending production of its Lexus GX 460 sports utility vehicle from Friday to April 28, after halting worldwide sales due to a roll-over risk at high speed.
"We will suspend production of the Lexus GX 460 in our Tahara plant in Japan from April 16 to 28," a nine-day suspension excluding weekends, said Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi.
The Tahara plant is the only plant in the world that produces Lexus GX 460, she added, but declined to disclose how many vehicles were made there.
The production halt came after Toyota suspended sales of the Lexus GX 460 sport utility vehicle worldwide and said it will test all its sport utility vehicles for safety.
The Japanese auto giant had earlier halted deliveries in the US and Canada after a roll-over risk in the Lexus was highlighted in a magazine review of the new SUV.
"The company has decided to suspend the SUV's sales worldwide, which means also in Russia and Middle East after North America," said Toyota spokeswoman Mieko Iwasaki.
The decision to hold off worldwide sales which would have seen the new Lexus released in China, follows tests carried out by Toyota after Consumer Reports magazine raised concerns about the safety of the SUV.
It gave the SUV a rare "Don't Buy: Safety Risk" rating, the latest blow to the reputation of the embattled Japanese auto giant.
When pushed to its limits, the rear of the GX "slid out until the vehicle was almost sideways before the electronic stability control system was able to regain control," the magazine said.
Toyota said it will work on analysing potential safety risks in the model, which has already sold 6,000 units.
While carrying out tests, Toyota offered to provide a loan car to concerned GX 460 owners until it had identified a remedy.
"We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer Reports identified," Toyota said.
"Our engineering teams are vigorously testing the GX using Consumer Reports' specific parameters to identify how we can make the GX's performance even better."
The worldwide sales halt of the new SUV and damaging report by the influential non-profit American magazine, deals a further blow to the Japanese car maker, which is trying to repair its image after a series of safety recalls.
In January Toyota had to recall a number of models mostly over a series of problems linked to "unintended acceleration."
The recalls have caused an outcry in the United States, with Toyota executives hauled over the coals in the US Congress and the company's previously stellar reputation for safety left in tatters.
The company now faces a record US$16.4m fine in the United States for its failure to notify authorities quickly about vehicle safety problems.
In addition, the National Highway Transport Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a warning to Toyota in a letter obtained Saturday by AFP that it could slap another fine on the Japanese vehicle maker.
Of Toyota's recalls, more than six million have been in the United States, mainly for sudden acceleration problems but also for brake-system issues on some hybrid vehicles.
The Japanese firm has been hit as well, with at least 97 lawsuits seeking damages for injury or death linked to sudden acceleration and 138 class action lawsuits from customers suing to recoup losses in the resale value of Toyota vehicles following the recalls.
The beleaguered automaker recently announced it would reshape its global operations as part of efforts to "regain consumer confidence" by boosting transparency and speeding up the decision-making process for recalls.
AFP/CNA-sf/al
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