Toyoda said he flew straight to Beijing from the United States to show his sincerity to China’s customers. He faced a grilling last week in Washington by angry US lawmakers about Toyota’s recalls over sticky gas pedals, faulty floor mats and glitches in braking software.
“The Chinese market is very important, so I flew here in person in the hope my personal expression of an apology and explanation will give customers some relief,” Toyoda said at a news conference. He apologized four times during the one-hour event. Toyoda’s decision to make China his second foreign appearance reflected the importance of its market as sales lag elsewhere and the sensitivity of Japanese brands in a country where nationalists are still angry over Japan’s wartime aggression.
China overtook the United States last year as the biggest auto market with a 48 percent jump in sales. Automakers are looking to China to offset weak demand in traditional markets and to drive future growth.
China’s state-run media have made only muted comment on Toyota’s recalls, in contrast to the blistering criticism Toyoda faced from American lawmakers.
Toyoda’s apology should help to restore consumer confidence, said Zhang Xin, an industry analyst for Guotai Junan Securities in Beijing.
“For Chinese people, Toyoda has shown sincerity, and the size of the recall is not that big,” Zhang said. “So as long as they can make sure quality in future, they can make a comeback.” Toyota recalled 75,522 RAV4 sport-utility vehicles in China in late January — a small percentage of the 8.5 million vehicles pulled worldwide since October.
Toyoda said he will lead a new global quality committee that will have a chief quality officer from each region, including China. He repeated earlier comments that, with his family name on the company, he was personally responsible for safety.
“The incident had caused an impact and worries to Chinese consumers,” he said, speaking in a calm, measured voice.
“I hereby express my sincere apologies for these worries.” Japanese news reports said Toyoda would meet with Chinese officials, but he did not mention possible talks with the government.
