Toyota President, Toyoda Akido, apologized on Friday to its customers about global recalls owing to faulty gas pedals. The move comes as its first step towards repairing damaged reputation and combating falling sales problems. Toyoda also promised that it will beef up its quality control measures and set up a special committee that will be headed by him. The committee will carry out internal checks and consider suggestions from outside experts apart from addressing customer complaints.
Toyoda also announced that Toyota cars are safe to drive and customers need not worry about its cars. The Japanese giant beat General Motors in 2008 as the world's biggest automaker. The company is now reeling from a series of complaints about problems ranging from unintended acceleration to brake failure. Toyota models including its hybrid model Prius is suffering from brake problems and gas pedals.
Toyoda expressed his apologies as "deeply sorry about the inconvenience to customers due to recalls across multiple regions". "Believe me, Toyota cars are safe," he said, briefly switching from Japanese to English. "Please believe, customer-first is our priority."
