The FINANCIAL — Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda apologized on March 1 to Chinese consumers for its recall of vehicles in China, and stressed the importance of the China market to Toyota, according to reports.
The number of Toyota vehicles recalled in China makes up only a small percentage of the 8.5 million pulled worldwide since October for sticky gas pedals, faulty floor mats and glitches in braking software, AP reports. But auto sales in China have become increasingly critical for automakers as sales lag in traditional markets. Last year, China overtook the United States as the biggest auto market, with a 48 percent jump in sales, and automakers are looking to it to offset weak global demand and drive future growth.
"The Chinese market is very important, so I flew here in person in the hope my personal expression of an apology and explanation will give customers some relief," Toyoda told news conference of the massive worldwide recalls of Toyotas, according to the same source. Toyoda's appearance was his second abroad following last week's visit to Washington, where he was grilled by angry lawmakers. He said he flew to China directly from the U.S. to show his sincerity.
Toyoda spoke to reporters after meeting Chinese quality control officials earlier in the day, BBC reports. "I'd like to express my sincere apologies to Chinese customers for the impact and the worries this incident caused," he said. "Toyota as an automaker thinks it is important to not cover up and to put consumer safety first."
Toyoda, grandson of the company founder, vowed the automaker would do whatever it takes to prevent similar problems from recurring and said he will appoint a chief quality officer for the Chinese market to help oversee the issue, according to Market Watch.
Toyoda said the floor mats involved in vehicle recalls in the U.S. and Canada are not used in China, and added new brake override systems will be installed in all new China models, The Wall Street Journal reports. Toyoda reiterated previous statements by the company that the unintended acceleration of Toyota vehicles has so far not been found to be due to electronics.
According to the same source, in January, the auto maker issued a recall notice for 75,552 RAV4 sport-utility vehicles in China. The company is recalling 8.5 million vehicles worldwide for problems including unintended acceleration related to gas pedal flaws.
BBC wrote that analysts agree the visit is an effort to shore up consumer confidence in the Toyota brand.
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