Late last night Toyota held a press conference in Japan where company CEO and Akio Toyoda, grandson of the automaker's founder, apologized for the recent recalls and safety concerns over Toyota products.
"The recalls are affecting several models in several regions and have caused anxiety among customers who are wondering if their cars are OK," said Toyoda. "For that we are very sorry."
Previous to this Toyota has been criticized for its lack of openness and minimal communication, as rumors and news reports swirled and owners of Toyota vehicles became increasingly confused. Toyoda did give a public apology once already but it was during a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and wasn't covered widely.
Toyoda reassured consumers that Toyota cars are safe and announced a new taskforce that would look into consumer complaints and work to make Toyota products safe. Akio Toyoda said he would personally oversee the new taskforce, which has six main goals: first, to improve the quality inspection process; second, to enhance customer research over safety issues; third, to establish an "Automotive Center of Excellence"; fourth, to work with outside experts on quality control; fifth, to increase communications and sixth, to improve regional autonomy of its divisions and products.
What Toyoda did not do during the press conference is announce a recall for the popular new 2010 Prius model, which Japan's Nikkei News has reported is coming.
For complete Toyota recall information visit
the AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub.
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Toyota CEO Makes Public Apology, Announces New Safety Taskforce on AutoGuide.com
