Toyota’s president signalled yesterday that he would skip a hearing by US lawmakers next week over the auto giant’s mass vehicle recalls as Washington steps up its investigation into the crisis.
The Japanese giant, pulling millions of vehicles worldwide due to faulty accelerator and brake systems, said it was also now investigating possible steering problems with the Corolla, the world’s top-selling car.
Seeking to restore confidence in its brand, Toyota said it would fit all new models with a system to cut engine power when the driver steps on the accelerator and brake pedals at the same time, to prevent runaway car crashes.
Toyota said its president, Akio Toyoda, would head a task force to improve quality control and enable the group to respond more quickly to reports of defects.
But the Toyota family scion, whoo has come under fire for his handling of the safety problems, indicated that he has no plan to appear before US lawmakers on Wednesday — one of several planned congressional hearings on the matter.
Instead Toyoda said he would give “maximum support” to his senior executives, including North America chief Yoshimi Inaba, who are due to be grilled by US lawmakers next week.
“I am sure they are well equipped to well respond to the questions and concerns of congressmen,” he told a news conference, his third this month on the safety issues that have tarnished the company’s once-glowing reputation.
Toyoda added, however, that if he was formally invited to appear before Congress he would consider doing so.
US authorities on Tuesday demanded that the world’s largest carmaker hand over documents to prove it did not drag its feet in recalling the vehicles once it learnt about defects that can lead to unintended acceleration.
Toyoda denied his company had ever covered up safety defects.
“We have not withheld information and we shall not do so in the future,” Toyoda, the grandson of the company’s founder, told a news conference.
US President Barack Obama’s Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has vowed “to hold Toyota’s feet to the fire” to make sure its cars are safe.
Toyota has pledged to fix more than 8 million vehicles worldwide because of the safety problems.
In a fresh blow to the company’s reputation for reliability, the US auto safety watchdog asked Toyota to hand over documents “to determine if the automaker conducted three of its recent recalls in a timely manner.”
Investigators will probe how the manufacturer learned of the defects in the recalled Toyota and Lexus vehicles and when the problems were discovered, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.
In response to the agency’s request, Toyota said it took “responsibility to advance vehicle safety seriously and to alert government officials of any safety issue in a timely manner.”
“We are reviewing NHTSA’s request and will cooperate to provide all the information they have requested,” the company said.
Toyota is also investigating a possible defect in the power steering of its best-selling Corolla model and will recall it if found to be faulty, executive vice president Shinichi Sasaki said.
“If this is a defect, we will start recalls,” he said. “We are in the process of investigating, but the number of complaints is less than 100.”
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