In the wake of growing concern over the quality of Toyota products worldwide, the company has announced that it would take corrective measures on quality-related issues.
Toyota president Akio Toyoda has conceded that the company's current recall problems are a result of it growing too fast, too soon. As a result he has outlined plans to improve quality standards and among the plans are the appointment of a chief quality officer, an expansion of the network of local technical offices, the instillation of brake over ride systems, and use of in-car data recorders.
To make the company more alert to customer concerns, Toyota will appoint a new chief quality officer for each principal geographical region. These officers will be a part of the Special Committee for Global Quality, headed by Toyoda, and the meetings will be reviewed by third-party experts.
The company will also work on strengthening its structure that would assist customer feedback - from each region - reaching directly to its Quality and Product Development Group.
In addition, Toyota will install an electronic throttle control technology that shifts the engine to idling, or shuts it down completely. This system incorporates overlapping failsafe features that are linked to a number of sensors. The company has commissioned an independent research organisation to test its electronic throttle control system.
Toyota is also adding a new brake override system to all its future models worldwide. This will cut engine power when the accelerator and brake pedals are applied at the same time. It also plans more active use of the in-car data recorders to collect vital information in case of a malfunction.