Toyota recalls 625,000 hybrids over software glitch

Toyota is recalling hybrid cars in Japan, North America and Europe

The world's biggest automaker, Toyota, is recalling about 625,000 hybrid cars around the world to fix a software glitch.

A fault in the software could lead it to shut down the hybrid system while the car is being driven, it said.

Models affected by the recall include Prius V minivans, called Prius Alpa and Prius+ in some markets, that were built between May 2010 and November 2014.

Toyota has been plagued by recalls over airbags in its vehicles made by Takata.

In May, the Japanese automaker recalled nearly five million cars to replace potentially faulty airbag inflators made by the troubled firm.

In the current recall, it said that Japan accounted for 340,000 of the cars, while 160,000 were in Europe and 120,000 were in North America.

The car giant said that there had been no reports of crashes or injuries due to the software glitch.

Despite the recalls, the company said in May that it expected to report a record net profit for the third year in a row in the current financial year.