Toyota Chief to Meet Press for Third Time After Recall Crisis

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda will meet with reporters later today to address a recall of the Prius hybrid and discuss a new committee on quality control as he struggles to repair the company’s image.

Toyoda and Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki will speak for the third time in 12 days, spokesman Takanori Yokoi said yesterday by phone. Toyoda, the 53-year-old grandson of the company’s founder, will directly oversee the committee and its outside experts.

“He’s now trying to speak in his own words and has begun to show a commitment to prioritizing customers, but all this has come too late,” said Tatsuya Mizuno, director of Mizuno Credit Advisory in Tokyo. “The problem has become so big I don’t think his attitude alone will settle the issue.”

Toyoda is stepping up public appearances after criticism from U.S. lawmakers and Japan’s government that he was too slow to respond to a mounting recall crisis which began with the recall of 4.3 million U.S. vehicles in November.

Lost Value

The Toyota City-based company has lost over $31 billion in market value since Jan. 21 when it began taking back millions of autos for potentially sticky pedals linked to unintended acceleration. Toyota said U.S. January sales slid 16 percent as a recall put some of its most-popular models off limits, while General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. reported increases that beat analysts’ estimates.

The carmaker faces at least 49 lawsuits filed on behalf of customers in the U.S. and Canada seeking a range of damages in sudden-acceleration cases. It also faces at least 13 lawsuits brought by individuals claiming deaths or injuries.

The world’s largest carmaker has called back almost 8 million vehicles on five continents and 437,000 hybrids including the Prius, the top-selling vehicle in Japan. Toyoda’s first press conference came on Feb. 5 and he met the press again on Feb. 9 to announce fixes to the Prius.

Toyota is in an “extremely difficult situation” because of a perception in the U.S. that it may have tried to cover up the problems, Mizuno said. If Toyoda mishandles questioning at U.S. congressional hearings the damage could be irreversible, he said.

Toyoda was invited to a Feb. 24 hearing into the automaker’s handling of recalls by Representative Darrell Issa of California, the senior Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform panel.

Toyoda said on Feb. 9 he would visit the U.S. and talk to U.S. authorities, dealers and suppliers. Toyota North America President Yoshimi Inaba “for now” has accepted the invitation to testify Feb. 24. Toyota spokesman Yokoi declined to confirm details of Toyoda’s visit to the U.S.

‘Proper Report’

Toyoda must provide a “proper report” on the recalls in the U.S. to avoid damaging relations between the two countries, Japan’s Transport Minister Seiji Maehara told reporters on Feb. 9. Maehara met with U.S. Ambassador John Roos the next day to discuss the issue.

Toyota’s delays in addressing problems with its vehicles have led to worldwide criticism of the company and Japan, Mizuho Fukushima, Japan’s Minister in charge of consumer affairs, has said.

In addition to recalls related to unintended acceleration and brake problems with the third-generation Prius, Toyota is recalling 8,000 Tacoma pickups and about 7,000 Camrys. U.S. safety officials are reviewing Toyota’s Corolla, the world’s best-selling car.

Toyota rose 0.8 percent to 3,380 yen at the close of trading in Tokyo yesterday. The stock has declined 19 percent since Jan. 21.

Toyota has been investigating reports that Prius owners driving at low speeds on bumpy or icy roads may experience moments where the car continues to coast for about a second after the brakes are applied, because of the anti-lock brake system. The carmaker said it received complaints about Prius brakes through dealers starting in the last few months of 2009.