ASA Adjudication on Toyota (GB) plc

Ad

A regional press ad, for the Toyota IQ, stated “I_CAN_CARRY_4_OF_YOU I_CAN_PROTECT_YOU I_CAN_GO­_ANYWHERE I_AM_UNIQUE I_AM_IQ”.

Issue

The complainant, who was particularly concerned about the safety of passengers in the rear seats, challenged whether Toyota could substantiate the claim "I_CAN_PROTECT_YOU".

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Toyota (GB) Ltd (Toyota) said the iQ included a comprehensive array of safety features. They pointed to the nine airbags fitted as standard and highlighted that the model included a world first rear curtain airbag that protected those in the back seats of the car. The other safety features included the anti-lock brake system with electronic brake force distribution, brake assistance, traction control, vehicle stability control (VSC+), whiplash injury lessening, ISOFIX seat fixing and a multiple load path body structure. Toyota pointed out that the iQ model had recently achieved a 5-star rating for safety in the new European New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) safety testing. They pointed out that the new test was more stringent than the previous one as it included a test for Whiplash neck injury protection in rear impact. They added that, in a press release about the new tests, Euro NCAP said "Toyota with the Avensis and iQ demonstrated that car size does not stand in the way of all-round safety".

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted the Toyota iQ had received a 5-Star rating for safety from the Euro NCAP program. We considered that the claim was likely to lead readers to expect that the car had achieved accepted industry safety standards. Because Toyota had shown that the Toyota iQ had, we concluded that the ad was unlikely to mislead.

We investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 48.8 (Motoring) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)