Toyota's president apologizes for fiasco

• Source: Shanghai Daily
• [09:20 June 25 2010]
• Comments

Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda bowed deeply and apologized to shareholders yesterday for the troubles caused by massive global recalls of the company's vehicles.

Toyoda was facing shareholders for the first time since the Japanese auto maker's reputation for quality was damaged by the recall crisis that started last October.

Again bowing deeply after the remark, Toyoda also said the company was doing its utmost to improve quality control and thanked shareholders for their support.

"I apologize deeply for the concerns we have caused," he said. "We believe our most important task is to regain customers' trust."

The shareholders' meeting was closed to the media, but the proceedings could be seen on a TV monitor in another room at Toyota headquarters in the city named after the auto maker.

Toyota, the world's biggest auto maker, has been working to patch up its reputation after more than 8 million vehicles were recalled worldwide over reports of unintended acceleration and other defects.

United States authorities slapped Toyota with a record US$16.4 million fine for acting too slowly on the recalls. Toyota dealers have repaired millions of vehicles, but the auto maker still faces more than 200 lawsuits tied to accidents, the lower resale value of Toyota vehicles and the drop in the company's stock.

Although the recall debacle hung over the shareholders' meeting, the statements from Toyoda and other officials were met with polite applause. A handful of shareholders shouted their anger.

Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki acknowledged that Toyota had failed to fully understand the feelings of customers about safety.

But he said the company was working harder to beef up quality controls, including appointing outsiders to assess the company's transparency.