Toyota to compensate some Chinese SUV buyers

via reuters.com
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE62S09J20100330

* Toyota to recall some RAV4s in China, compensate buyers

* Compensation first of its kind in China-paper (Adds provincial gov't confirmation, background)
SHANGHAI, March 30 (Reuters) - Japanese auto maker Toyota (7203.T) will recall some RAV4 vehicles in China and compensate their buyers after complaints from customers in China's eastern Zhejiang province, a provincial government body said.
The recall of all affected vehicles will be completed by the end of April and their owners will be given compensation, the Zhejiang Administration of Industry and Commerce said on its website (www.zjaic.gov.cn), as seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
Local media reported that it would be the first case in mainland China of buyers of vehicles being compensated after their vehicles had been recalled. [ID:nTOE62S095]
It is unclear whether the recall would affect only buyers in Zhejiang province or include other areas. The amount of compensation was not specified in the statement.
Toyota, which produces cars in China in tie-ups with FAW Group and Guangzhou Automobile, sold 709,000 cars in China last year, up 21 percent from the previous year. But that accounted for a relatively modest 5 percent of the market.
The firm has been struggling for more than two months to reassure a jittery public that it has turned a corner in dealing with safety issues that sparked a recall of 8.5 million vehicles. [ID:nN27231388]
Many Chinese car buyers have long complained that international automakers have not offered them compensation in recalls despite doing so for Western customers. (Reporting by Melanie Lee and Lu Jianxin; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)