TOYOTA PRESIDENT Akio Toyoda will link his firm’s major recall crisis to its rapid expansion in recent years, when he appears before a US congressional hearing later today.
“We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organisation, and we should sincerely be mindful of that,” Mr Toyoda said, according to a copy of his opening remarks scheduled to be delivered before a US House panel today.
“I regret that this has resulted in the safety issues described in the recalls we face today, and I am deeply sorry for any accidents that Toyota drivers have experienced,” the opening remarks state.
The hearings are being held to investigate Toyota’s handling of the recalls that involved over 8.5 million vehicles globally in recent months.
They relate to problems with “unintended acceleration” on several of its big-selling models and software glitches in the braking software on its latest Prius hybrid model.
In the statement Mr Toyoda apologises to the family of Mark Saylor, a California Highway Patrol officer who was killed, along with three family members, in a Lexus that sped out of control last August. “I would like to send my prayers again, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.”
The remarks are scheduled to be made before the US House committee on oversight and government reform.
This follows the opening of a separate hearing by the House energy and commerce subcommittee yesterday. In particular it is investigating whether Toyota resisted the possibility that electronic defects caused the unintended acceleration, rather than sticking accelerator pedals or ill-fitting floormats, as claimed by the car firm.
Rhonda Smith, who gave evidence yesterday about how her car suddenly surged to speeds of 160km/h, said she felt Toyota and the US national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA), investigating the faults, had dismissed her belief that the vehicle’s electronics were to blame. “Shame on you, Toyota, for being so greedy. And shame on you, NHTSA, for not doing your job,” Ms Smith told the committee panel.
The unintended acceleration problems with Toyota vehicles have been linked to at least five deaths in the US, with 29 other fatality reports being examined by US authorities.
The committee chairman Henry Waxman said: “There is no evidence that Toyota or the government agency NHTSA took a serious look at the possibility that electronic defects could be causing the problem.”
He said Toyota did not initiate a study into possible electronic defects until two months ago and the NHTSA does not have an electrical or software engineer on staff.
Prior to giving evidence yesterday, Toyota US sales president Jim Lentz said: “We now understand that we must think differently when investigating complaints and communicate faster, better and more effectively with our customers and our regulators.” – (Reuters/Bloomberg)
