Toyota Motor Corp will pay a record $1.2 billion to resolve a criminal probe into safety issues, in a deal that could serve as a template for how U.S. authorities approach a similar investigation into General Motors Co., according to the Associated Press.
The settlement between the Justice Department and Toyota includes an admission by the auto manufacturer that it misled American consumers about two different problems that caused cars to accelerate even as drivers tried to slow them down, the AP reported.
The agreement comes as General Motors is also under investigation over its handling of an ignition switch failure linked to a dozen deaths, according to the AP. GM recalled more than 1.6 million vehicles more than a decade after first noticing the issue.
Top officials said the Toyota settlement could serve as a template for similar cases, the AP reported.
"My hope and expectation is that this resolution will serve a model for how to approach future cases involving similarly situated companies," Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference on Wednesday, according to the AP. Holder did not comment or mention GM specifically.
The deal with Toyota was led by the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan, the same prosecutors investigating GM's handling of its ignition-switch recall, the AP reported.
GM also faces probes by Congress and safety regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as at least three proposed class-action lawsuits related to economic losses suffered by consumers, according to the AP.
GM Chief Executive Mary Barra has been credited for apologizing quickly for the slow recall and promising to focus on consumer safety, something Toyota failed to do initially when its unintended acceleration issue first arose, the AP reported.
The Toyota deal, which had been expected, resolves issues that have dogged the company since at least 2007 and have been linked to at least 5 deaths, according to the AP. The auto maker still faces hundreds of private lawsuits over the problems.
Prosecutors filed criminal charges against the company but agreed to defer and drop them if the company allows an independent monitor to review its safety practices and if it abides by the terms of the deal, the AP reported.
