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Beijing. Toyota President Akio Toyoda apologized on Monday to the company’s customers in China, one of the world’s fastest-growing car markets.

The number of Toyota vehicles recalled in China makes up only a small percentage of the 8.5 million pulled worldwide since October for sticky gas pedals, faulty floor mats and glitches in braking software.

But motor-vehicle sales in China have become increasingly critical for motor-vehicle manufacturers as sales lag in traditional markets.

Last year, China overtook the United States as the biggest motor-vehicle market, with a 48 percent jump in sales, and motor-vehicle manufacturers are looking to it to offset weak global demand and drive future growth.

“The incident had caused an impact and worries to Chinese consumers,” Toyoda told a news conference, referring to the worldwide recalls.

“I hereby express my sincere apologies for these worries,” Toyoda said in his second foreign appearance following last week’s visit to Washington, where he was grilled by angry lawmakers.

Toyoda said China was important to his company and reiterated that with his family name on the product, he was personally responsible for safety.

China’s state-controlled news media have made only muted comment on the recalls, in contrast to the blistering criticism Toyoda faced from American lawmakers. The flood of recalls in the United States has shaken confidence in Toyota’s reputation for excellent quality. In China, the company announced a recall of 75,552 RAV4 sport-utility vehicles in late January due to the accelerator pedal problem.

Toyota’s February sales by its two Chinese joint ventures with state-owned partners were up from a year earlier, according to Passenger Car Association estimates. Sales for its venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group climbed 50 percent to 17,500 units. Sales at its FAW Group venture jumped more than 100 percent to 40,400.

“So far, it’s hard to see any direct impact on Toyota’s sales,” said Rao Da, general secretary of the China Passenger Car Association. “The crucial thing for them is brand reputation. If they don’t pay great attention to this, it will eventually hurt the customers’ trust.”

A spokesman for Toyota China, Niu Yu, said monthly sales figures would be released today.

 

Associated Press