Akio Toyoda, the president and CEO of Toyota, and Yoshimi Inaba, president and COO of Toyota Motor North America, answer questions from members of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee on the recall of 8 million vehicles worldwide. All updates are Eastern Standard Time.
(CNN) — 6:50 p.m. — Toyoda tears up and pauses for composure as he thanks the audience for their support. He describes the hearing as an opportunity to remind customers of the company’s commitment to quality and safety. “We have to rethink everything about our operations to regain customers’ confidence,” he says, reading from a statement in English. “We have to reassert the values that have been our hallmark.”
6:45 p.m. — A plant worker from Kentucky and a dealer from Texas join Inaba and Toyoda onstage at the National Press Club, where the two men receive a standing ovation.
5:50 p.m. — Toyoda makes a brief statement after the hearing thanking Congress and again pledging to change how Toyota handles complaints. He then makes his way through a dense crowd to a Toyota Highlander waiting for him outside. He is due to speak to an audience of Toyota dealers at the National Press Club in Washington later in the evening.
5:37 p.m. — Chairman Edolphus Towns thanks the men for coming in voluntarily and says he considers their appearance a sign of their commitment to addressing problems. The panel is adjourned.
5:34 p.m. — Rep. Driehaus reads a letter from a driver who experienced sudden acceleration in his 2005 Toyota Tacoma. The driver said he had no mats and used to race cars. Toyoda says tests conducted so far have not demonstrated the same phenomenon and believes the system is safe, but pledges to continue testing.
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