Malaysia's Perodua to recall 74,000 cars

Malaysian compact carmaker Perodua said Wednesday it would recall 74,000 of its MyVi models to replace a faulty electronic power steering column. The recall affects MyVi cars produced between March 2011 and March 2012. In a statement, the company apologised to its customers but warned that the problem could affect the steering column's response times when travelling at low speeds. Perodua will absorb all the costs of the replacing the steering column, it said. The company did not specify whether the recall affected any exports cars, but Perodua has exported only extremely small numbers of its vehicles. A day earlier, Perodua, the country's second-largest automaker, had announced plans to invest some $770 million over four years as part of an expansion plan aimed at maintaining its share of the domestic car market. Perodua has gained nearly a third of the domestic market through compact and low-priced models aimed at the domestic Malaysian market. It has targeted sales of 194,000 vehicles this year. Japan's Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd and UMW Holdings are Perodua's major shareholders.