In China, the accelerator problem experienced by Toyota's RAV4 vehicles led to 75,552 vehicles being recalled. Toyoda emphasized the fact that owners of Prius or Lexus need not worry, as faulty parts did not find their way into locally sold vehicles.
"We will continue to work hard. I'm here to offer my deepest apologies," Toyoda said according to Reuters.
Toyoda's visit to China was not all milk and honey however. Before the conference, Chinese security guards had to drag away three Chinese protesters who argued they experienced brake problems and wanted an apology.
"You apologized in the U.S., but in China you just don't care," one of the protesters said. "You can't only think about making money, you have to solve the quality issue."
The Chinese market is of particular importance for Toyota. The carmaker set a goal of selling 800,000 units here this year. Until the end of November 2009, Toyota had sold around 1,354,000 vehicles in Asia, with China to be held accountable for nearly half: 622,000 units, with analysts saying that the total number at the end of the year may very well be around 700,000 units.
"I know that some people have doubts about Toyota cars in China now, but I don't think that will last very long," IHS Global Insight analyst John Zhang told the source. "If Toyota can prove itself and continue to come up with good cars with a reasonable price tag, people will continue to by Toyota cars."
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