Toyota Said to be Preparing to Pay $16M U.S. Fine

WASHINGTON - Toyota Motor Corp. on Monday will agree to pay the record $16.4 million fine levied by the U.S. Transportation Department, according to an official at the agency, Bloomberg reported.

Toyota, which has recalled about 8 million vehicles worldwide for defects that may cause unintended acceleration, was fined by the U.S. auto safety regulator for failing to alert the government about circumstances in which gas pedals may stick. The department official asked not to be identified ahead of the announcement.

The fine, which amounts to less than 2 percent of Toyota's projected net income for the year ended March 31, may bolster the case for plaintiffs seeking compensation from the Japanese carmaker.

At least 180 consumer and shareholder lawsuits are seeking class-action status and at least 57 individual suits are claiming injuries or deaths caused by sudden acceleration incidents in Toyota vehicles.

“The fine is coming on top of costs from increased incentives and vehicle testing,” said Tatsuya Mizuno, director of Mizuno Credit Advisory in Tokyo. “At this point, there's no telling what will come of the lawsuits.”

Paul Nolasco, a Toyota spokesman in Tokyo, declined to comment.

The carmaker could have contested the fine, which is the maximum amount the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration can levy.

The fine, imposed April 5 by NHTSA, may be followed by additional penalties because the pedals supplied to Toyota by CTS Corp. “had two separate defects that may require two separate remedies,” the agency told the company in a letter the day it announced the civil penalty.

Toyota has 30 days to pay the $16.4 million.