Breaking: Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda Will Testify at U.S. Recall Hearings

Colum Wood
by Colum Wood

Just days after he said he wouldn’t, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has accepted an invitation to testify before the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, which will examine the automaker’s recent spate of recalls.

“I have received Congressman Towns’ invitation to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on February 24 and I accept,” said Toyoda in a statement issued by Toyota today. “I look forward to speaking directly with Congress and the American people.”

At a press conference earlier this week, Toyoda announced his company’s plans to reform its safety standards, but at that time Toyoda declined to speak before Congress. Instead he planned to send Toyota North America president Yoshimi Inaba.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has made known his plans to get to the bottom of the Toyota recalls, announcing that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will use its statutory powers to obtain documents from Toyota and investigate how it learned of the defects in vehicles and when it knew about them.

Official release after the jump:

PRESS RELEASE

Statement from Akio Toyoda Responding to Invitation to Testify Before the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform

“I have received Congressman Towns’ invitation to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on February 24 and I accept. I look forward to speaking directly with Congress and the American people.”

Colum Wood
Colum Wood

With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.

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