Toyota president silent on new fault in vehicles

TOKYO, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda on Tuesday refused to answer questions about a new fault with his company's cars that has affected around a million vehicles in the United States and Japan.

Toyoda spoke after returning from Beijing Monday, where he apologized to Chinese consumers about faults in Toyota vehicles that have led to a recall of millions of cars worldwide.

The president also said that he had not yet decided whether or not he would visit Europe in an attempt to reassure customers there that his company is doing all it can to ensure the safety of Toyotas in the future.

Commenting on visits to the United States and China, Toyoda said, "I really learned a lot from the U.S. hearing, it gave an opportunity for dialogue."

"We hope that the public will come to realize that our transparency has increased and our customer focus has improved."

It was announced on Monday that Toyota has informed more than 1 million customers of a fault that leads to an oil leak in Toyota vehicles.

The fault came shortly after a recall of millions of cars over the malfunction in the brakes and accelerators, which has seriously damaged the company's reputation for quality.