Toyota, I Am Watching You!
An apology on Friday from Akio Toyoda, the chief of Toyota Motor Corp, for the company's mismanagement of the crisis over sticking gas pedals, does not seem to be enough.
After confirming latest 5 accidents involving Toyota Motor's Prius hybrids, the Japanese government Saturday claimed that they will urge the company to investigate the cases.
To date, the Transport Ministry has accepted over 80 complaints regarding breakdowns in brake system of the latest model of the flagship Prius hybrid in February.
5 out of the 80 cases were car crashes which caused by malfunctions of brakes as claimed by drivers.
One day after confirming a brake system design flaw, Toyota has not decided whether to recall Prius that are already on the road.
The company said they would announce the plan for those hybrid cars as soon as possible.
At this moment, anti-locking braking system had been redesigned for the latest version of Prius which was manufactured since last month.
Toyota's slow response to the safety problems of its cars has been sharply criticized by Japanese media.
One of Japanese major newspapers advised that the reputation of Toyota and the country as world's trusted automobile maker might be damaged, if the issue were not handled properly.
Nikkei business daily said that "Words alone cannot settle the situation.
" To add on, it warned that as one of Japan best-known brands, Toyota's shaking would likely damage the international trust in Japan brands.
Another Japanese newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, claimed that Toyota seemed to be overconfident with its automobile's advanced equipment and did not take customer's complaints seriously.
Akio Toyoda, at the first news conference after recalling 4.
5 million cars, made promise to the world that Toyota will strengthen the quality control.
Furthermore, a special team will be set up to review quality checks and user complaints and figure out a solution based on experts' advices.
And he will be the team leader himself.
Business professor at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Sherman Abe said, "Toyota needs to be more assertive in terms of providing consumers comfort that the immediate problem is being addressed...
and that it can deal with these crises.
" The world is now keeping her eyes on Toyota.
Only with humble acceptance of critics and enhancement on the quality and safety of its models can the crisis of Toyota be solved.
After confirming latest 5 accidents involving Toyota Motor's Prius hybrids, the Japanese government Saturday claimed that they will urge the company to investigate the cases.
To date, the Transport Ministry has accepted over 80 complaints regarding breakdowns in brake system of the latest model of the flagship Prius hybrid in February.
5 out of the 80 cases were car crashes which caused by malfunctions of brakes as claimed by drivers.
One day after confirming a brake system design flaw, Toyota has not decided whether to recall Prius that are already on the road.
The company said they would announce the plan for those hybrid cars as soon as possible.
At this moment, anti-locking braking system had been redesigned for the latest version of Prius which was manufactured since last month.
Toyota's slow response to the safety problems of its cars has been sharply criticized by Japanese media.
One of Japanese major newspapers advised that the reputation of Toyota and the country as world's trusted automobile maker might be damaged, if the issue were not handled properly.
Nikkei business daily said that "Words alone cannot settle the situation.
" To add on, it warned that as one of Japan best-known brands, Toyota's shaking would likely damage the international trust in Japan brands.
Another Japanese newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, claimed that Toyota seemed to be overconfident with its automobile's advanced equipment and did not take customer's complaints seriously.
Akio Toyoda, at the first news conference after recalling 4.
5 million cars, made promise to the world that Toyota will strengthen the quality control.
Furthermore, a special team will be set up to review quality checks and user complaints and figure out a solution based on experts' advices.
And he will be the team leader himself.
Business professor at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Sherman Abe said, "Toyota needs to be more assertive in terms of providing consumers comfort that the immediate problem is being addressed...
and that it can deal with these crises.
" The world is now keeping her eyes on Toyota.
Only with humble acceptance of critics and enhancement on the quality and safety of its models can the crisis of Toyota be solved.
Source...