Toyota prepares to face Congress
By Yuri Kageyama |
February 9, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TOYOTA is counting on a trusted veteran with ample United States experience, Yoshimi Inaba, when the Japanese auto maker's recall problems are scrutinized by Congress later this week.
Inaba, 63, a sales expert, was hand-picked from semi-retirement by Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda last year to head the North American operations and help steer Toyota through the company's biggest earnings slump in its 72-year history as global auto sales dived.
Now he must explain a spate of safety problems - first with floor mats that could entangle the gas pedal, followed by a design flaw that could cause a depressed gas pedal to get stuck - covering more than 7 million vehicles worldwide.
The quality woes have spread to the Prius, the world's top-selling hybrid car and a symbol of Toyota's technological prowess. There have been dozens of complaints in Japan and the US of a short delay before the brakes kick in.
Inaba will appear before the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform tomorrow along with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administrator David Strickland. The name of the hearing: "Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public at Risk?"
Inaba, who has a master's in business administration from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business, faces the enormous challenge of assuaging public alarm about what has gone wrong at the manufacturer.
Toyota reiterated yesterday that a fix on the 2010 Prius was coming soon, but declined to give details.
Japanese media reported it will be a recall in Japan.
The braking problem can be fixed with new software, which is already in Prius cars that went on sale since last month, according to Toyota.
More than 100 complaints have been reported in the US over Prius braking, and four crashes and two minor injuries are suspected as related to the braking problems, according to the US government.
Experts say Inaba, who headed Toyota's US sales unit from 1999 until 2003, will need to do a far better job fielding questions in English than did his boss Toyoda.
Paul Argenti, Professor of Corporate Communication at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, advised Inaba to stay humble, own up to mistakes, show a convincing plan for a fix and woo customers with discounts and free maintenance service for some years.
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