The Japanese automaker has been hit by a whirlwind of safety concerns around the globe and US authorities are scrambling to assure concerned public and angry lawmakers who have begun their own probes into vehicle defects.

The admission of a brake design flaw with its star green car and the subsequent US probe are major new blows that could not have come at a worse time for the world’s largest automaker.

Toyota was already under fire in the US for its handling of massive recalls affecting about eight million vehicles worldwide “more than its entire 2009 global sales of 7.8 million vehicles “due to accelerator trouble.

The latest developments were particularly worrying for Toyota because the Prius has created a global buzz and been Japan’s top-selling car since June “ahead of its main rival, Honda’s Insight.

Toyota had sold nearly 1.5 million Prius vehicles in 40 countries as of August 31 since the first version’s launch in 1997, making it the world’s most popular hybrid car.

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The Delhi government is also planning incentives like base price discount, lower VAT, and road tax and registration charge refund to boost the sale of environment-friendly electric cars.

“We will be ready to provide electric charge stations in Delhi when such cars will be ready for launch in India. The government wants to bring down the city’s pollution level,” a senior government official said.

The government is already providing a 15% subsidy on the base price of the Reva, the first Indian-made electric car, along with 12.5% VAT exemption, and road tax and registration charge refund.

Several manufacturers are exhibiting environment-friendly electric and hybrid cars at the Auto Expo, inaugurated on Monday. While an electric car runs only on batteries, which need to be charged, a hybrid car makes dual-technology use of both battery and fossil fuels.

Among the electric cars being developed is Renault’s two-seater Twizy ZE Concept — expected to hit European markets by early 2012 and after that in India — which will run on rechargeable lithium ion batteries. The company is also making two more Concept cars — Fluence ZE and Kangoo ZE.

As for hybrid cars, automobile giant Toyota is expected to launch its Prius at the Expo. Experts say hybrid cars, which use far less petrol or diesel than conventional cars, can help reduce smog by 90%.

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