Toyota May Delay Some New Models
Toyota Motor Corp. may delay some of its new models, the company’s president said Friday, as the world’s No. 2 automaker tries to improve its quality-control process to reduce a spate of recalls that is threatening its reputation.
The possible delays come amid a period of strong growth for Toyota, which is in the process of meeting demand for its fuel-efficient vehicles by increasing production at plants across the globe, including in the U.S., China, Canada, Thailand, Mexico and Russia.
Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe denied that the company had decided to delay models across the board, saying the development of individual vehicles would be decided on a case-by-case basis.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Toyota was considering slowing the development of some models by as much as six months because of the quality problems.
Watanabe, however, said the company’s emphasis was on making sure quality-control procedures were properly carried out, rather than on how much time the process took. He denied that the recalls occurred because Toyota rushed the development of some models.
The Japan-based company is reviewing design, procurement and other stages of car manufacturing while looking more closely at complaints from buyers to reduce recalls and defects in production, he said.
“I feel we are making progress,” Watanabe said. He also said he did not know of any specific models that could be delayed by the changes.
This month, Toyota reported that its fiscal first-quarter profit jumped 39% to 371.5 billion yen ($3.2 billion) as sales surged 13% to 5.6 trillion yen ($49 billion). Many analysts believe the blistering pace could put Toyota on track to overtake General Motors Corp. as the world’s largest automaker in the near future.
Toyota has faced an increasing numbers of recalls partly because of its efforts to cut costs by using the same parts across different models.
Japanese authorities have launched a criminal investigation into three Toyota executives suspected of failing to do anything about a faulty steering part, which may have caused a 2004 accident that injured five people.
The U.S. government also has opened an investigation of 2004 and 2005 Toyota Sienna minivans after receiving complaints that the liftgate had failed, causing the hatchback door to close on motorists. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said this month that it received eight complaints and four reports of injuries involving the liftgate. The investigation involves 393,313 Sienna minivans.
And Chinese authorities said Friday that Toyota would recall 20,069 Crown sedans made in China because of defective rubber strips that seal the windshields.
