Toyota chief Akio Toyoda has apologised to the US lawmakers for massive recalls of vehicles due to technical snag and said the company might have compromised on safety in its race to become the world's number one automaker.
Toyoda, in a statement to be delivered in front of a congressional committee in Washington, said, "Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick."
"I regret that this has resulted in the safety issues described in the recalls we face today, and I am deeply sorry for any accidents that Toyota drivers have experienced," he said.
So far Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide.
"I would like to point out here that Toyota's priority has traditionally been the following: First. safety; second quality; and third, volume. These priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements as much as were able to before, and our basic stance to listen to customers' voices to make better products has weakened somewhat," he said.
Toyoda would appear before one of three congressional committees looking into how the company and US regulators responded to sudden, unintended acceleration blamed for 30 US deaths, as well as braking and steering.
Acknowledging that in the past few months, its customers have started to feel uncertain about the safety of Toyota's vehicles, Toyoda said he takes full responsibility for that.
"Today, I would like to explain to the American people, as well as our customers in the US and around the world, how seriously Toyota takes the quality and safety of its vehicles," he said.
"Especially, I would like to extend my condolences to the members of the Saylor family, for the accident in San Diego. I would like to send my prayers again, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said.
