Toyota recall: Sales start to slide

Toyota's recall over sticking gas pedals is starting to impact its sales totals.

Toyota Motor Sales said Tuesday that its January sales were 98,726 vehicles, down 8.7 percent from a year ago on an average selling day basis (statement). Within that sum, the Toyota nameplate saw sales fall 12 percent from a year ago to 83,279 units. On Jan. 26, Toyota suspended sales on eight models, or 60 percent of inventory.

The company on Monday detailed a fix for the sticking gas pedal problem. Critics, however, called the fix a Band-Aid on a flawed design. The Toyota saga touches on multiple themes: Business communication, crisis management, supplier relations and managing a global enterprise to name a few.

On a green note, Toyota said says of its hybrid vehicles were up 11.2 percent in January compared to a year ago.

Ford appears to be gaining at Toyota's expense. Ford said Monday that its sales were up 24 percent in January from a year ago. GM sales were up 14 percent.

Related coverage on SmartPlanet:

• Toyota recall: Engineers come up with pedal fix
• NHTSA has not signed off on gas pedal fix: Toyota
• Toyota recall taints reliability reputation; highlights reliance on suppliers
• Toyota claims to have remedied “pedal entrapment” problem
• Toyota’s Tylenol moment: Can it recover its reputation after recalls?
• Gas pedal problem prompts Toyota to pull eight models from market

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com