U.S. Transport Secretary Ray LaHood said he was encouraged by the steps Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) has put in place to improve vehicle safety, but stressed he will be convinced only when its cars actually become safer.
"I believe that they have put in place some measures that will enable us at the Department of Transportation to have a better handle and a better form of information if they're carried out," LaHood told a news conference in Toyota City after touring the automaker's safety facilities on Monday.
"And what I told Mr. Toyoda today (is), these measures are important measures but I use the American colloquialism: the proof is in the pudding," he said, adding that "time will tell" whether Toyota's efforts will bear fruit.
Toyota is on a mission to put the worst quality crisis in its history behind it, setting up regional task forces to boost customer satisfaction and expedite decisions on recalls by relaying complaints back to headquarters more quickly.
The world's biggest automaker has recalled some 8 million vehicles globally since last October to fix accelerator pedals that can become stuck with condensation and pedals that can be held down by floormats, forcing it to take the unprecedented step of temporarily halting production of some of the models.
Last month, Toyota agreed to pay a record $16.4 million federal fine for delaying a safety recall over defective accelerator pedals, although it denied violating regulations and said it was paying to avoid a protracted dispute with regulators.
U.S. safety regulators are looking into a possible second fine based on documents submitted by Toyota, which indicated there were two separate defects in the recalled pedals.
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