Tech & Biz

Toyota CEO Testifies: Akio Toyoda Testimony, Quotes, Live Twitter

by Sudha Krishna | February 24, 2010 at 11:20 am

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Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has apologized to a U.S. Government Committee on Wednesday for the acceleration and brake problems in various Toyota makes and models.

The Toyota Motor Company released a written statement prior to the Toyota CEO's testimony.

...in the past few months, our customers have started to feel uncertain about the safety of Toyota’s vehicles, and I take full responsibility for that. Today, I would like to explain to the American people, as well as our customers in the U.S. and around the world, how seriously Toyota takes the quality and safety of its vehicles..

Meanwhile, U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood testified before the same government committee vowing to get the bottom of the Toyota Recall issue. The debate surrounding the saftey of Toyota cars is the source of the problem - is it the Toyota's electronics that is at fault?

“Some people believe electronics is the problem and it's our responsibility to check that out,” Mr. LaHood told members of the House oversight and government reform committee.

“We are going to hold Toyota's feet to the fire.”

CEO Akio Toyoda, a trained test driver addressed the Toyota safety concerns in his written statement saying,

I drove the vehicles in the accelerator pedal recall as well as the Prius, comparing the vehicles before and after the remedy in various environmental settings. I believe that only by examining the problems on-site, can one make decisions from the customer perspective. One cannot rely on reports or data in a meeting room.

The Toyota Recall Issue and the testimony of Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda is being closely watched in Japan with every twist in the Toyota Recall Story, relations between the United States and Japan are thrust into sharp focus.

Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper, a national publication, wrote in an editorial that Toyoda's testimony "not only determines Toyota's fate, but may affect all Japanese companies and consumer confidence in their products. President Toyoda has a heavy load on his shoulders.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda ended his written statement by saying that his name is on every car he gives his personal commitment to ensuring the safety of Toyota vehicles.

Check out the Live Twitter Coverage of Akio Toyoda's testimony