F&I Management & Training

The president of Toyota will face tough questioning from US politicians later over safety problems at the firm.

Akio Toyoda is to be quizzed on events that led to 8.5 million vehicles being recalled worldwide and how his firm responded to the public's concerns.

Mr Toyoda has already released opening remarks which admitted that the firm's expansion "may have been too quick".

Meanwhile, Japan's government is to investigate reports of unintended acceleration of Toyota vehicles.

Transport Minister Seiji Maehara said the government would launch a review of 38 cases in Japan over the past three years.

He said the investigation would focus on Toyota but would also include other carmakers.

"The number of complaints about Toyota cars is not out of proportion to its share of the overall number of vehicles registered," he said.

But given the ongoing issue, we would like to investigate Toyota cars."

Explanation sought

The reputation of Toyota has been severely damaged by a string of major problems across a range of vehicles.

The main issues have been faulty accelerator pedals, accelerator pedals getting stuck in floor mats, and a problem with braking systems on its hybrid models.

The BBC's Adam Brookes in Washington said that the House Energy and Commerce Committee had "not yet accepted that Toyota understands why these cars surged out of control".

"The committee is groping for the rest of the story," he added.