Angry US lawmakers will grill Toyota's president Akio Toyoda today, after the Japanese firm admitted a spate of global vehicle recalls had 'not totally' fixed dangerous safety flaws.
Toyoda will apologise personally for the defects which have been implicated in dozens of deaths and that have prompted 5.3 million vehicles to be recalled in the US alone.
The embattled president, who leads what had been one of the most revered brands in the car sector, blamed the company's 'too quick' rise to world number one for slipping standards.
'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,' said Toyoda, whose remarks were made public before his Congress appearance.
Watch the testimony live here from 3.50pm
Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder, was expected to face tough questions from members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the second of three panels looking into the response to sudden unintended acceleration blamed for some 30 US deaths.
James Lentz, who heads Toyota Motor Sales USA, drew sharp scepticism yesterday when he told the House Energy and Commerce Committee that electronic malfunctions were not responsible for the potentially deadly spikes in speed.
But he acknowledged that recalls for sticky accelerators and others that can be blocked by floormats would not totally solve the sudden unintended acceleration problem and said Toyota had not wholly dismissed electronic flaws.
'We continue to be vigilant and continue to investigate all of the complaints that we get from consumers,' Lentz said.
Toyota has pulled more than eight million vehicles off the roads over accelerator, brake and steering problems and faces class-action lawsuits potentially costing billions of dollars. Toyota says just over 18,000 cars are being recalled in Ireland.
A qualified test driver, Toyoda talked of his personal pain at the problems confronting the Japanese giant, founded by his grandfather and now embroiled in the worst crisis of its 70-year history.
'For me when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well. I, more than anyone, wish for Toyota's cars to be safe and for our customers to feel safe when they use our vehicles,' his testimony said.
Toyoda said a new quality advisory group of experts would be set up to avoid future mistakes.
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told lawmakers yesterday that he had found Toyota's Japan-based leaders 'safety-deaf' when he took office last year but that he believed the company was charting a different course.
This week's hearings come as the car giant answers a request for documents from US federal grand jury investigating whether there is sufficient evidence for criminal charges related to the defects.
