We have put growth over safety, admits Toyota chief

By Mail Foreign Service
Updated: 19:47 EST, 24 February 2010

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Toyota's Japanese boss was given a rough ride on Capitol Hill last night as American lawmakers demanded answers over the car recall scandal.

Facing the kind of grilling that would be unthinkable in Japan, Akio Toyoda offered an apology for the safety issues which have been linked to 39 deaths.

As the grandson of the company's founder, the 53-year-old is venerated in Tokyo.

But the recall of 8.5million vehicles worldwide for acceleration and braking problems - including Prius and Aygo models in the UK - has put him in the firing line..

Toyota Motor Corporation President and CEO Akio Toyoda

'Growth over safety': Toyota president and CEO Akio Toyoda (C) and Yoshimi Inaba (R), president of Toyota Motor North Americac and a translator are sworn in over car safety recalls on Capitol Hill in Washington yesterday

Mr Toyoda was forced to deny that he sat on the problem after discovering there might be safety dangers.

Congressman Paul Kanjorski, one of the members of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, said: 'We had a great deal of faith in something stamped "Made in Japan".

'You injured that thought process in the American public and you will be called upon in our system to pay for that.'

Mr Toyoda made a sincere apology to those affected by the faults

Bespectacled Mr Toyoda conceded that the company's runaway growth was to blame for taking priority over safety issues.

'I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick,' he said.

Sitting alongside his boss, Toyota's U.S. president Yoshima Inaba said the company has ordered a 'top to bottom safety standards review'.

Toyota has recalled some 8.5million vehicles worldwide - including Prius and Aygo models in the UK and more than 6million in the U.S. - over acceleration problems in several models and braking issues in the Prius. It is also investigating steering concerns in Corollas.

The U.S. government has received complaints of dozens of deaths linked to sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles since 2000, including the Lexus crash that killed off-duty California policeman Mark Saylor and three members of his family last summer.

Mr Toyoda said: 'I would like to point out here that Toyota's priority has traditionally been: first, safety; second, quality; and third, volume.

'These priorities became confused. We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organisation and we should sincerely be mindful of that.

'I regret that this has resulted in the safety issues described in the recalls and I am deeply sorry for any accidents that Toyota drivers have experienced.'

Mr Toyoda's appearance follows an emotional testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday from motorist Rhonda Smith who said: 'Shame on you, Toyota, for being so greedy.'

Mrs Smith, from Tennessee, wept as she recounted her 'near death experience' when the accelerator on her luxury Lexus 350 ES roared out of control at speeds of more than 100mph.

She said she struggled for six miles to slow down the car before it finally crashed.