Toyota resumes production of bZ4X EV after recall over safety risk

Toyota bZ4X (AP)
Toyota bZ4X (AP)

Summary

  • Toyota will resume deliveries of the bZ4X in Japan at the end of this month

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it has resumed production of its bZ4X electric vehicle after the model was recalled earlier this year because of a potential safety risk.

Toyota recalled the bZ4X sport-utility vehicle, its first mass-produced EV, in June because of a problem with bolts that the company said could have led them to loosen to the point that the wheels would detach. At the time, the company said the recall covered about 2,700 vehicles worldwide, including 2,200 in Europe and 260 in the U.S.

Since the recall, Toyota has worked to increase the strength and stability of the bZ4X’s bolts, said Masahiko Maeda, the company’s technology chief. Production of the vehicle at a Toyota plant in central Japan restarted Thursday.

Toyota will resume deliveries of the bZ4X in Japan at the end of this month, Mr. Maeda said. He said shipments to the U.S. would also resume, but a date hasn’t been determined yet.

Mr. Maeda apologized for the vehicle’s delay and said Toyota has taken time to fix the bZ4X’s tires to make sure that customers feel completely at ease driving the car. Toyota’s stock price was nearly unchanged in trading in Tokyo Thursday.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text

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