Shares of Toyota Motor Corp and Subaru Corp fell on Friday after the two Japanese automakers announced recalls of their first mass-produced electric vehicles (EVs) for the global market due to the risk of the wheels coming off.
Toyota’s recall of 2,700 units of the bZ4X SUVs, launched less than two months ago in Japan, is a setback for the world’s biggest automaker by sales as it seeks to take on the biggest rival electric vehicles Tesla Inc.
A Toyota spokesman said Thursday that not all models were subject to the recall, but declined to say how many it had built in total.
Subaru also said it is recalling approximately 2,600 units of the Solterra, its first all-electric vehicle jointly developed with Toyota, worldwide.
Japan’s safety regulator said sharp turns and hard braking could cause a hub bolt to loosen, increasing the risk of a wheel coming off the vehicle. He said he was not aware of any accidents caused by the defect.
Subaru shares fell nearly 5% and Toyota’s 1.6%.
