The President of Toyota will face some tough questions this week from US politicians over the well documented safety problems at the firm.
According to the BBC, Akio Toyoda is to be quizzed on events that led to the recall of 8.5 million vehicles worldwide and how his firm responded to the public’s concerns.
Mr Toyoda has already stated that he believes that the firm’s expansion “may have been too quick”.
Meanwhile there is further bad news as Japan’s government is to investigate reports of unintended acceleration of Toyota vehicles.
Transport Minister Seiji Maehara said that the government would launch a review of 38 cases in Japan over the past three years. However, he did indicate that the number of complaints regarding Toyota vehicles was “not out of proportion to its share of the overall number of vehicles registered”
The House Energy and Commerce Committee in the US is believed to have taken the position that it does “not yet accept that Toyota understands why these cars surged out of control”. The unexplained acceleration problem follows issues of faulty accelerator pedals, accelerator pedals getting stuck in floor mats and a problem with the braking system on its Hybrid models and this latest development continues to devalue the company’s safety credentials.
Although Mr Toyoda has already apologised for the safety problems that Toyota vehicle owners have been encountering it should be noted that it appears they have had warning previously of such problems and failed to respond.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee heard from Rhonda Smith who told of a “near death” experience in October 2006 when her Toyota Lexus would not slow down. She says that she reported the incident but that both Toyota and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had dismissed her belief that the vehicle’s electronics were to blame and that they “chose to blatantly ignore” her concerns.
