In the face of unprecedented events—the massive recall and Toyota Prius’ brake issue, that is—Toyota Motor President and CEO Akio Toyoda made a formal apology in his first public appearance since the media storm started two weeks ago. But, ironically, the Japanese media were critical of their flagship auto company, complaining that the apology was too little, too late—especially so when no recalls were announced for the Prius.
“I feel we are in stormy weather. Under this situation, we must regain customer trust. Tackle the problem. My role is to carry it out”, Toyoda said. “We lacked customer perspective. It’s very unfortunate”.
“I will do my best”, he later added. “Believe me, Toyota’s cars are safe”.
However, the Japanese media would have none of it, calling the apology unconvincing and overdue. “Utterly too late”, as the nationwide Asahi newspaper put it. “The entire world is watching how Toyota can humbly learn from its series of recent failures and make safe cars”.
“Words are not enough”, said the top Nikkei business daily. “The company’s crisis management ability is being subjected to severe scrutiny”.
Tags: Akio Toyoda • Asahi • Business • Japan • Nikkei • Toyota • Toyota Prius
