Toyota’s global recall expands to Middle East

Toyota Motor said Tuesday it would expand to the Middle East, Africa and Latin America its global recall over an accelerator pedal problem.

Toyota will recall about 180,000 vehicles imported from the United States and sold in those regions, Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said.

The company is still considering whether it will be a voluntary or compulsory recall in those regions, she added.

 I do not think that the expansion of the production overseas has affected the quality 

Toyota vice president Shinichi Sasaki

Toyota said that condensation, which contributes to the pedal problem, was less likely to build up in hot climates than in the United States and Europe.

The group has identified 40,000 Avalon 2005-2010 and Sequoia 2009-2010 vehicles in the Middle East with the problem pedal.

In addition, 80,000 vehicles in Africa and 60,000 in Latin America are affected, the company said, without specifying which models.

The automaker pulled up to 1.8 million vehicles in Europe Friday, the latest in a series of Toyota recalls that have affected almost eight million cars worldwide -- roughly equivalent to the group's entire 2009 global sales.

Along with the sticking pedals, the group is recalling almost 5.3 million U.S. vehicles to replace floor mats that could trap accelerator pedals.

Toyota Motor scrambled to reassure customers that it has not sacrificed its legendary safety to be world number one.

The company has actively expanded overseas over the past decade to meet brisk demand for its cars, prompting critics to question whether its quality control has weakened in the process, a suggestion the group denies.

"I do not think that the expansion of the production overseas has affected the quality," Toyota vice president Shinichi Sasaki told a news conference, at which he issued a fresh apology by the company for the massive recall.

"We have full trust in engineering and quality," added Sasaki, the first Toyota executive to talk publicly in Japan about the recalls since they spread around the world last week.