Toyota chief formally apologises at Congress hearing

AFP - Toyota president Akio Toyoda Wednesday formally apologized for deadly auto defects that have driven the world's top carmaker into crisis, and vowed to rebuild shattered global faith in the firm.

"I am deeply sorry," Toyoda contritely told angry US lawmakers in a high-stakes hearing sure to shape the fate of the global empire his grandfather founded 70 years ago and perhaps the future of US-Japan trade relations.

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Toyota will overhaul its quality control efforts, placing greater weight on views of consumers and non-Japanese experts than in the past, creating a new US safety post, and requiring its executives to do test drives, he said.

"My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers," Toyoda, said in English to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in testimony carried live on television in Japan.

Three US congressional panels have launched investigations into incidents of sudden unintended acceleration blamed for nearly 40 US deaths and tied to the recall of some eight million Toyota vehicles worldwide.

Lawmakers and some drivers who survived Toyota crashes have charged the Japanese auto giant with ignoring complaints and incorrectly blaming accidents on floor mats that jam accelerators or on sticky pedals, while ignoring the possibility of software or electronic problems.

Toyoda, who switched to Japanese to answer lawmakers' questions, said through an interpreter he was "absolutely confident" electronics were not the root of the problem.

Representatives also sharply criticized US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulators, saying they had reacted sluggishly to the problem despite nearly 1,000 complaints.

Highlighting the high stakes of Toyoda's appearance, Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said hours before the grilling that the company's image and ties between the allies required the executive to "act sincerely and in good faith."

"If he does that, I think it's very possible that Toyota would gradually regain the public's trust, without making this issue a major economic problem between Japan and the United States," Hatoyama told reporters in Tokyo.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told angry lawmakers that Toyoda's appearance showed the world number one automaker was no longer "safety deaf" to overseas complaints and concerns.

"I do think that the fact that Mr Toyoda is here, that he's testifying, that he's willing to answer questions, (means) things have changed. His visit here has been a game changer," he said.

Toyoda, 53, blamed a "too quick" expansion by Toyota, which last year dethroned General Motors as the world's top automaker, for slipping safety standards.

"For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well. I, more than anyone, wish for Toyota's cars to be safe and for our customers to feel safe," said Toyoda.

In Japan, Transport Minister Seiji Maehara announced a probe of Toyota's issues with the sudden spikes in speed but stressed that "Toyota does not receive more complaints than other carmakers," considering its market share.

LaHood denied Toyota was being unfairly targeted and defended NHTSA, saying he hoped to expand its staff and vowing "we will not sleep" until all of Toyota's cars and trucks in the United States are safe.

But the committee's chairman, Democratic Representative Edolphus Towns, charged that: "NHTSA failed the taxpayers and Toyota failed their customers."

Asked whether Toyota's vehicles were now safe, LaHood bluntly said any car or truck listed on his department's website as under recall was "not safe" until brought in for necessary fixes.

LaHood also vowed a complete investigation into the possibility that an electronic glitch, not a mechanical problem or driver error, caused the accidents.

The firm's president of North American operations, Yoshimi Inaba, appearing at Toyoda's side, announced Toyota will install in all new models in the region special systems that enable brakes to override accelerators when both are depressed.

On Tuesday, Toyota's top US executive, James Lentz, told another House panel the company's moves to pull some 8.5 million vehicles off the road -- six million in the United States -- had "not totally" addressed the problem.

Lentz said the company had found no evidence of an electronics problem being to blame but, under heavy fire from angrily skeptical US lawmakers, admitted Toyota had not completely ruled out that possibility.