Toyota chief apologises for vehicles recall

TOYOTA president Akio Toyoda has apologised for the recall of millions of vehicles around the world as the deepening crisis threatened to further damage its sales and delay an earnings recovery.

• Akio Toyoda

"We're extremely sorry to have made customers uneasy," Toyoda said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"We plan to establish the facts and give an explanation that will remove customers' concerns as soon as possible."

Toyoda had been conspicuously silent since the firm's recall due to a faulty accelerator pedal spread from North America to Europe and China.

As of yesterday, Toyota had called in 7.5 million cars and lorries, almost as many as it sold worldwide in 2009. It said the defective pedal was not used in cars in Japan, Australia and Asia, excluding China.

The total includes repairs for an issue involving floor mats becoming stuck under accelerator pedals.

With calls mounting for Toyoda to officially address the media on the situation, the world's biggest car-maker said it was considering comment or action. A news conference may be held this week, prior to Toyota's announcement of third-quarter financial results on Thursday, but the company was still working on a final plan.

Toyoda last commented publicly on the matter in October, when he expressed regret for the deaths of four people in a California crash linked to the defects last year.