Special Report: Toyota Worldwide Recall |
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Toyota President Akio Toyoda said here on Wednesday at a U.S. Congressional hearing that he took "full responsibility" for the massive recall of Toyota cars due to quality defects, and apologized for that.
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Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda (C) testifies at a hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, Feb. 24, 2010. Akio Toyoda apologized Wednesday before a U.S. Congress committee investigating Toyota's deadly flaws that sparked the recall of 8.5 million cars.(Xinhua/Zhang Jun) |
APOLOGIZE AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
After being pressed by the U.S. Congressmen and the public audience in recent days, the grandson of the founder of the world' s largest automaker apologized before the U.S. lawmakers.
"I'm deeply sorry for any accident that Toyota drivers have experienced," Toyoda said at the hearing.
"I sincerely regret that some people actually encountered accidents in their vehicles," he added.
He acknowledged before the U.S. lawmakers that the Japanese automaker's quality control is not flawless. "I myself, as well as Toyota, am not perfect."
The 53-year-old Toyota chief said that "I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick. I would like to point out here that Toyota's priority has traditionally been the following: First; Safety, Second; Quality, and Third; Volume."
"These priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements as much as we were able to before, and our basic stance to listen to customers' voices to make better products has weakened somewhat."
Toyoda's testimony on Wednesday afternoon is in a series of hearings organized by the U.S. Congress to investigate the auto company's massive recall.
Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Transportation testified before the lawmakers this morning to explain the regulator's role about the Toyota recall.
In a hearing on Tuesday, Toyota's U.S. sales chief, James Lentz, apologized for the company's handling of safety issues.
Toyoda at first declined to appear before the panel but acquiesced last week when he was officially invited.
Toyota has recalled 8.5 million vehicles, mostly to fix problems with floor mats trapping gas pedals or with pedals getting stuck.