Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp's. President Akio Toyoda apologized for the carmaker’s growing recall crisis in his first scheduled public appearance since the company halted U.S. sales and production of its best-selling models last month.
The company will set up a new committee on quality control, Toyoda, 53, grandson of the company’s founder, told reporters in Nagoya, Japan, today.
Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, announced a recall of 2.3 million U.S. vehicles on Jan. 21 to repair defects linked to unintended acceleration. The company has lost almost $34 billion in market value as the recall has grown to almost 8 million units worldwide, tarnishing Toyota’s reputation.
Separately, Japan’s government has ordered Toyota to investigate complaints from customers about brake failures in the latest version of its Prius hybrid car, the nation’s best- selling vehicle last year.
The company is still considering measures related to the Prius, Toyoda said. The carmaker will hire outside experts for its quality committee, said Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki.
source: Bloomberg