Toyota U.S. President Apologizes For Faulty Pedal Recall

Automobile giant Toyota apologizes to its customers.

President and CEO of Toyota Motors Sales, Jim Lentz, voiced his concern and apologised on Monday.

[Jim Lentz, President, Toyota Motor Sales]:

„We are truly sorry for letting them down.“

Toyota has started publicly discussing consumer concerns after announcing last week that it was recalling 1.8 million cars across Europe, covering eight of its models.

This was due to a faulty accelerator pedal which causes sudden and unexpected acceleration.

The models potentially affected include Aygo, iQ, Yaris, Auris, Corolla, Verso, Avensis and the RAV4.

[Jim Lentz, President, Toyota Motor Sales]:

„If you notice that your accelerator pedal is slow to return, or if it begins to stick, please contact your Toyota dealer as soon as possible. If that’s not taking place, go to the Toyota website at Toyota.com and it will explain which vehicles are affected by this recall. And then very soon you’ll receive a letter from us, notifying you to contact your dealer to setup an appointment so we can take care of this as rapidly as possible.“

The immediate impact of Toyota’s recalls and sales stoppages is estimated to have cost the company around $1 billion.

Shortly after the announcements, Peugeot Citroen joined Toyota in recalling two of its models which used the same potentially faulty pedals.

A spokesman for Peugeot said their 107 model and the Citroen C1 are made in the same factory in the Czech Republic, which has been at the centre of the controversy.

Peugeot Citroen is recalling 97,000 Peugeot 107s and Citroën C1s across Europe.

Meanwhile Toyota shares fell 1.2 percent on Monday.

NTDTV