FACTBOX: Five facts on Toyota after U.S. recall

DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp announced its biggest recall ever -- 3.8 million vehicles in the United States -- citing the risk that loose floormats could force the accelerator down, a problem being investigated as a possible cause of crashes that killed five people.

Following are some of Toyota's recent successes and the challenges facing the automaker.

* Toyota became the world's top-selling automaker in 2008, overtaking General Motors Co even before the top-selling U.S. automaker announced plans to close or sell several brands in a broad restructuring with U.S. government support.

* The Prius, by far the best-selling gasoline-electric hybrid, has become synonymous with hybrid vehicles, building Toyota's credibility on leadership in green technology. The automaker has told dealers it will roll out several new Prius variants in coming years.

* Looking to reverse losses, Toyota named Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder, as its new leader in June. He vowed changes. Toyota also announced a U.S. management overhaul that included an acknowledgment that the company had grown too quickly and lost some of its focus on quality. Toyota has also told dealers it will take steps to revitalize its Lexus luxury brand and its youth-oriented Scion brand.

* Toyota's U.S. recall of 3.8 million vehicles due to the risk that a loose floormat could force down the accelerator was its largest ever. Rival automakers have been seen as catching up to Toyota on quality and reliability and its U.S. market share has been declining in 2009 under pressure from rivals such as Hyundai Motor Co.

* An ill-timed bet on U.S. demand for pickup trucks saw Toyota expand production capacity with a plant to build the Tundra just as the market was falling. Toyota's sales in the U.S. market -- its largest -- were down 29 percent through August.

(Reporting by David Bailey, editing by Matthew Lewis)