Toyota to recall 7 million cars

Toyota is voluntarily recalling more than seven million vehicles worldwide, including some Yaris, Corolla and Camry models, over faulty window switches.

It affects 1.39 million cars in Europe - 138,000 in the UK - 2.47 million in the US and 1.4 million in China. It is the biggest single recall since Ford called back eight million vehicles in 1996.

Toyota said there had been no reports of accidents, injuries or deaths as a result of the window problem.

Toyota is also recalling 459,000 vehicles in Japan, 650,000 in Australia and Asia, as well as hundreds of thousands from across the Middle East, and from within Canada and its other, smaller markets around the world.

The number of vehicles being recalled is roughly the same as its sales for the whole of its last financial year.

Toyota did not say how much the recall would cost. In 2009, Toyota recalled 12 million cars over faulty pedal accelerators. Toyota used to be a brand synonymous with quality and customer care, but this perception is now seriously damaged. It begs the question where do Toyota go from here?

The one saving grace for Toyota is that they can argue they have customer interests and satisfaction at heart and have the will to make such a massive product recall which is something of a loss of face - an ideal which is very important in Japanese culture.

Toyota have suffered since a drop in production after the 2011 Tsunami in Japan, and also recently seen sales in China - the world's biggest growth market for cars - dip due to growing tensions between Japan and China over disputed islands in the East China Sea.