Toyoda attends Congressional interrogation

• Source: Global Times
• [09:01 February 25 2010]
• Comments

A gas pedal is repaired on a Toyota Corolla, the model now under scrutiny for possible steering problems.

Toyota's president Akio Toyoda faced tough questions from a US congressional panel Wednesday after the Japanese carmaker conceded it had let safety standards slip and could still not explain most incidents of unintended acceleration.

The pressure even increased after Japan's transport regulator said it would look into 38 reports of unintended acceleration by Toyota cars over three years, the first official probe into the issue in its home market.

"The number of complaints about Toyota cars is not out of proportion to its share of the overall number of vehicles registered," Japanese Transport Minister Seiji Maehara said. "But given the ongoing issue, we would like to investigate Toyota cars."

Toyoda again apologized for safety issues that have led to the recall of more than 8.5 million vehicles, blamed for at least five deaths and setting off fierce criticism of both the world's largest carmaker and US regulators.

Toyoda ruefully acknowledged in his prepared testimony, "Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick."

On the first day of congressional hearings, Rhonda Smith, driver of a Toyota Lexus in a 2006 incident where her car reached 100 mph (160 kph), said she felt Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 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," a tearful Smith told a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

This week's hearings come as the auto giant answers a request for documents from a US federal grand jury investigating whether there is sufficient evidence for criminal charges related to the defects.

Toyoda's congressional hearing and the carmaker's deepening woes are also front-page news in Japan, where politicians are publicly expressing worries over the potential impact on economic growth, exports and the country's overall image.

Toyota shares fell 1.5 percent Wednesday in Tokyo, having lost about a fifth of their value since January 21.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said separately that he hoped Toyoda would act sincerely and use the hear-ing as a step toward regaining the public's trust.

Agencies