By Yuki Hagiwara and Makiko Kitamura Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. will recall 437,000 hybrid vehicles globally to fix faulty braking systems on its four models, including the Prius, adding to almost 8 million vehicles the company is repairing for separate defects. The world’s biggest carmaker will halt sales of SAI, HS250h and Prius plug-in hybrids, said President Akio Toyoda, speaking at a Tokyo press conference. The action threatens to further tarnish Toyota’s reputation in its home market, where the Prius was last year’s top-selling vehicle, as the company grapples with its worst recall crisis. Toyota has lost about $31 billion in market value since Jan. 21, when it began recalling millions of vehicles for defects linked to unintended acceleration. “So far Toyota’s recalls have been overseas, but this time it’s in its home market,” said Tatsuya Mizuno, director of Mizuno Credit Advisory in Tokyo. “The Prius has been a rising star for the company, and Toyota won’t be able to avoid a worsening image. Toyota raised its full-year earnings forecast the other day, but it’s far too optimistic.” The vehicles to be repaired include 199,666 2010 Prius hybrids, 10,820 SAIs, 12,423 Lexus HS250h cars and 159 Prius plug-in hybrids, according to the filing to the ministry. U.S. Recall Toyota also intends to recall the 2010 Prius in the U.S., according to a person familiar with the plans, who declined to be identified as the information isn’t yet public. The carmaker will brief the press about measures it will take regarding the Prius in Japan and overseas at 3:30 p.m. in Tokyo, company spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said by phone. Toyoda, 53, will meet with Japan’s Transport Minister Seiji Maehara at 5:30 p.m., according to the ministry. Toyota rose 2.9 percent to 3,375 yen at the close of trading in Tokyo. The stock has declined 19 percent since Jan. 21. “Toyota is finally taking measures,” said Mamoru Kato, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center in Nagoya, Japan. “This is fueling optimism that Toyota is moving in a clear direction to avoid further consumer anxiety.” The U.S. Transportation Department is also investigating reports of Prius brake failures. The department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received 124 reports from consumers, including four saying crashes occurred with two “minor” injuries, according to an investigation document. Europe Toyota plans to recall a total of at least 270,000 Prius cars in Japan and the U.S., according to the person familiar with the plan. Juergen Stolze, a Toyota spokesman in Cologne, Germany, said yesterday the carmaker will decide whether to recall Prius cars in Europe by Feb. 10. The Toyota City, Japan-based carmaker said last week it modified braking software on newly built Priuses in late January. The latest Prius model is built in Japan. The model, driven by U.S. actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak, is the world’s best-selling hybrid car. Toyota has sold 197,000 units of the latest version in Japan and 103,200 in the U.S., according to the company. Toyota has been investigating reports that Prius owners driving at low speeds on bumpy or icy roads may experience moments where the car continues to coast for about a second after the brakes are applied, because of the anti-lock brake system. The carmaker has said it received complaints about Prius brakes through dealers starting in the last few months of 2009. Unintended Acceleration Toyota said today it stopped shipments of the Lexus HS250h and SAI hybrids from a factory in southern Japan to inspect their braking systems. The vehicles included in today’s recall are Prius hybrids built between April 20, 2009 and Jan. 27, plug-in Prius hybrids built between Nov. 25, 2009 and Feb. 5, SAI hybrids built between Oct. 2, 2009 and Feb. 8, and Lexus HS250h hybrids built between June 10, 2009 and Feb. 8. The brake problems aren’t related to incidents of sudden acceleration in the U.S., according Toyota’s Takeuchi. Toyota has recalled almost 8 million vehicles on five continents to repair defects that have been linked to unintended acceleration. Those recalls may cut demand for the company’s vehicles by 100,000 units, Toyota said last week. The company on Feb. 4 predicted a return to profit in the fiscal year ending March 31, even as it said recalls may cost 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion). The full-year net income forecast of 80 billion yen takes into account recalls for flaws linked to unintended acceleration, though it doesn’t include potential Prius recalls, Toyota said at the time. Toyota faces at least 34 lawsuits filed on behalf of customers in the U.S. and Canada seeking a range of damages from loss of car value to a return of profits. It also faces at least 12 lawsuits brought by individuals claiming deaths or injuries caused by uncontrollable acceleration. Sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles has been linked to 19 deaths in the last decade, according to Henry Waxman, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee chairman. To contact the reporters on this story: Makiko Kitamura in Tokyo at mkitamura1@bloomberg.net

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