Toyota bosses appear before House transport committee to answer questions about safety problems
Senior Toyota executives were in Ottawa today to answer questions about the company’s handling of a series of high-profile recalls that affected some of Toyota’s most popular vehicles. Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles globally, including hundreds of thousands Canada, because of concerns that gas pedals can become stuck beneath floor mats, or because of flaws in the gas pedal assembly itself that can cause the mechanism to stick or return slowly to the idle position. Echoing criticisms leveled by U.S. lawmakers, some members of the House transport committee accused the automotive giant of dragging its feet on what many consider to be troubling safety defects. But Stephen Beatty, the managing director of Toyota Canada, stressed that the company moved quickly to address the issue as soon as it was brought to its attention last October, and has worked closely with Transport Canada throughout the process. He also stressed that, despite reports to the contrary, Toyota has been unable to identify any problems with its vehicle electronics that could lead to instances of sudden unintended acceleration. Yoshi Inaba, the president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor North America, also appeared before the committee to stress that the company is committed to building vehicles that are safe and reliable.