Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda apologized for the recall of millions of vehicles around the world, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported, as the deepening recall crisis threatened to further damage its sales and delay an earnings recovery.
"We're extremely sorry to have made customers uneasy," Toyoda said on Friday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a brief clip on NHK showed.
"We plan to establish the facts and give an explanation that will remove customers' concerns as soon as possible."
Toyoda had been conspicuously silent since the top automaker's recall of cars related to unintended acceleration spread from North America to Europe and China this week.
As of Saturday, the global recalls of Toyota cars and trucks had swollen to about 7.5 million vehicles, almost as many as it sold worldwide in 2009. Toyota has said the defective pedal was not used in any of its cars in Japan, Australia and Asia excluding China.
The total includes repairs for an issue involving floor mats becoming stuck under accelerator pedals.
Toyota has not recalled any cars in Japan, where it uses different suppliers.
With calls mounting for Toyoda to address the media on the escalating ordeal, the world's top automaker had said it was studying some form of comment or action from headquarters.
A company source told Reuters a news conference may be held early next week, prior to Toyota's announcement of third-quarter financial results on February 4, but that the company was still working on a final plan. The source did not say whether Toyoda, or another executive, would hold the briefing.
Toyoda, a family scion who took up his post last June, last commented publicly on the matter in October, when he expressed regret for the deaths of four people in a California crash linked to the defects last year.
