Toyota has received a subpoena from a US federal grand jury over its handling of safety problems with its cars in a development that opens the door to criminal prosecution and hefty fines for the Japanese company.
The world's biggest carmaker also said it had received a subpoena from the Los Angeles office of the US Securities and Exchange Commission asking it to produce documents relating to “unintended acceleration of Toyota vehicles and the company's disclosure policy and practices”.
The subpoenas came ahead of two congressional hearings this week on the company's recall of more than 8.5m cars due to faulty accelerators, floor mats and brake problems.