Toyota 2010 - Term Paper Example

Toyota Toyota Toyota Motor Corporation abbreviated TMC to this continues to be among the dominant companies in the global car industry. It is a Japanese multinational auto maker with its headquarters in Aichi, Japan. Despite being among the top in the automobile industry Toyota faced some serious issues in 2010 which led to a worldwide recall of approximately nine million vehicles (Silke, 2010).Even before its decisions to halt the productions of some models in 2010, Toyota made its first recall decision on November 2 2009.

Investigations revealed that the placement of the front driver’s side door mat was incorrect causing pedal entrapment. This meant that the driver would not always be able to stop the car when he pulled the brakes consequently causing serious accidents (Jackwin, 2010).The second recall was made on January 21, 2010. Numerous crashes were reported which could not be explained by the floor mat incursion. Research indicated problems with the mechanical sticking of the accelerator pedal which Toyota labels sticking accelerator pedal.

After a series of research findings Toyota recalled approximately 5.2 million vehicles with regards to the floor mat problem and an additional 2.3 million with regards to the accelerator problem (Stewart, 2010).These decisions were a result of numerous investigations carried out by Toyota along with the U.S. NHTSA and Japanese transport ministry. After numerous complaints being filed, US safety regulators carried out an investigation into Corolla steering complaints on Feb 17, 2010. The biggest challenge facing the investigators was to differentiate between accidents caused by mechanical or technical faults in the vehicles and those that were merely a result of driver error.

Both the Wall Street Journal and USA Today suggested that even when the dealers and automakers realized the cause was driver error it was not always possible for them to say it explicitly, so as to avoid appearing insensitive to their customers (United States, 2010).Investigations were also carried out by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). The MLIT investigated on the sudden acceleration complaints and released its findings in February 2010. Revealing that out of the 134 cases logged by the ministry between 2007 and 2009, Toyota accounted for 38 cases.

However it also stated that since Toyota’s market share was huge approximately 28% the rate found was not unusual.When confronted with the issue the president and CEO of Toyota Akio Toyoda issued a statement admitting that he feared Toyota’s fast expansion over the years did not give the company much time to make improvements and to stick to its priorities of : “First; Safety, Second; Quality, and Third; Volume”. He said that he deeply regretted the fact that the company’s pursuit to grow had made it compromise on its values and regretted over the problems it had created for the company and its customers.

Akio Toyoda stated that “any decisions on conducting recalls have been made by the Customer Quality Engineering Division at Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan.” He went on to promise that the company would make significant efforts to ensure its safety values are not compromised in the future (Moss, 2010).ReferencesJackwin, K. (2010, February 24). Toyota president Akio Toyodas statement to Congress. The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/feb/24/akio-toyoda-statement-to-congressMoss, G.

(2010, February 3). Quality on the Line: The Fallout from Toyotas Recall. Knowledge. Wharton. Retrieved from: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2423Silke, S. (2010, February 2). Toyota opens up about pedal recall, shares strategy for fix. USA Today. Retrieved from: http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-02-01-toyota-fix_N.htm?loc=interstitialskipStewart, R. (2010). BBC News - Toyota recalls up to 1.8m cars. BBC News - Home. Retrieved from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/84879United States. (2010). Toyota gas pedals: Is the public at risk?

: hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, second session, February 24, 2010. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.