Toyota President Akio Toyoda said on Wednesday at a US Congressional hearing that he took "full responsibility" for the massive recall of Toyota cars due to quality defects, and apologized for that.

Apologize and take responsibility

After being pressed by the US Congressmen and the public audience in recent days, the grandson of the founder of the world' s largest automaker apologized before the US lawmakers.

Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corp, attends a hearing before the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, February 24, 2010. Akio Toyoda apologized Wednesday before a US Congress committee investigating Toyota's deadly flaws that sparked the recall of 8.5 million cars. [Xinhua]

"I'm deeply sorry for any accident that Toyota drivers have experienced," Toyoda said at the hearing.

"I sincerely regret that some people actually encountered accidents in their vehicles," he added.

He acknowledged before the US lawmakers that the Japanese automaker's quality control is not flawless. "I myself, as well as Toyota, am not perfect."

The 53-year-old Toyota chief said that "I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick. I would like to point out here that Toyota's priority has traditionally been the following: First; Safety, Second; Quality, and Third; Volume."

"These priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements as much as we were able to before, and our basic stance to listen to customers' voices to make better products has weakened somewhat."

Toyoda's testimony on Wednesday afternoon is in a series of hearings organized by the US Congress to investigate the auto company's massive recall.

Ray LaHood, US Secretary of Transportation testified before the lawmakers this morning to explain the regulator's role about the Toyota recall.

In a hearing on Tuesday, Toyota's US sales chief, James Lentz, apologized for the company's handling of safety issues.

Toyoda at first declined to appear before the panel but acquiesced last week when he was officially invited.

Toyota has recalled 8.5 million vehicles, mostly to fix problems with floor mats trapping gas pedals or with pedals getting stuck.