Toyota apologizes for handing of safety issues in testimony
- Source: Xinhua
- [08:54 February 24 2010]
- Comments
Eddie Smith and Rhonda Smith of Sevierille, Tenn, Sean Kane, President of Safety Research & Strategies Inc, and David Gilbert, associate professor of Automotive Technology, South Illinois University (L-R), testfy before the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee on Toyota's malfunctioning cars and the company's recalls, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., capital of the United States, February 23, 2010. Photo: Xinhua
Toyota Motor Corp.'s US sales chief, James Lentz, apologized for the company's handling of safety issues in Tuesday's hearing in US Congress.
"In recent months, we have not lived up to the high standards our customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," said Lentz in his prepared testimony. "Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our good faith efforts."
He noted that the problem has also been compounded by poor communications both within the company and with regulators and consumers.
"We acknowledge these mistakes, we apologize for them and we have learned from them," said Lentz. "We now understand that we must think differently when investigating complaints and communicate faster, better and more effectively with our customers and our regulators."
His remarks came as US Congress this week launched two hearings on Toyota. On Wednesday, the House Oversight and Government Reform committee is scheduled to hold a hearing at which Toyota President Akio Toyota will testify.
On Tuesday's hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce committee, Hentz also defended that electronic problems did not contribute to sudden acceleration of its cars.
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electronic throttle control system in our vehicles," said the Toyota's US chief. "We have designed our electronic throttle control system with multiple failsafe mechanisms to shut off or reduce engine power in the event of a system failure."
