Japanese people are known the world over for their hard work, sincerity and commitment to their industry and country. Akio Toyoda’s initiatives to mitigate the impact of recent recalls and his apology to Chinese public and US Congressional Committee should be seen in the light of efforts being made by the Group to resurrect the brand of Toyota.

And, within one month of announcement of the first massive Global recall, Akio has finally had a reason to smile. Or should we say that the Japanese people have reposed their faith in Toyota. How else can you explain the 48% year-on-year increase in sales of Toyota vehicles in the month of February in Japan followed by 30% in China?

Toyota’s Japan sales indicate that the customers have given a huge thumbs-up to the beleaguered automotive giant. While Honda reported a 36% increase in February sales, Nissan managed an 18% increase. This makes Toyota the leader as far as increase in sales is concerned.

Interestingly, the maximum increase took place for the luxury model Lexus and its sales grew by 257% to 3373 units. One must spare a thought for the Lexus that has been at the heart of many lawsuits in the US. The details of February sales, as shared by the Japanese Automobiles’ Dealers’ Association (JADA), is sure to give a massive boost to Toyoda’s efforts in taking his Group past the recalls.

Figures from China indicate that Toyota’s sales increased by 30% in the month of February, and this is again based on a year-on-year calculation.
With China and Japan accounting for major markets of Toyota outside US and Europe, it seems that the Global recalls have not had much of an impact in these regions. On the contrary, it appears that the recalls worked to Toyota’s advantage and improved its 'trust factor’ and that has worked in its favour.

The people, at large, seem to have given an approval to Toyota’s recalls and have infact patted the automotive giant for going ahead with one of the most massive recalls in the auto-industry across the Globe.

It looks like the story that comes right off the tinsel town. An automotive giant goes in for a massive recall to fix issues with gas pedals, and then apologizes to the customers and regulatory authorities. It has had a glorious past and customer reputation. And with the recalls, it positions itself as a caring and responsible automotive provider.

Following the recalls, It ensures that the recalls go in a seamless way thereby impressing the people back home in Japan to consider that the Group did the best to fix a glitch that could have impacted any other manufacturer.

In essence, the company has been successful in portraying genuine intentions in addressing glitch in products. And it has definitely succeeded in sounding a responsible automotive manufacturer by admitting to its mistakes and subsequently apologizing to the consumers for all the inconvenience caused.

On its part, Toyota would have learnt the lessons a hard way. There is no doubt that the Company will need to put its house in order to prevent a recurrence of such a massive recall in future. And there is no doubt that the things had come to such a pass because of botch-ups. And it appears that a massive recall was the only way out for the Company.

Whether the Company succeeds in winning the confidence of US Congress is something that will unfold in the coming weeks. For now, the Company has reasons to cheer the trust of Chinese and Japanese.

For once, Toyoda can sleep easy. Things seem to be falling in place after a hectic pace of meetings, apologies and steps taken to stem the downslide.