Toyota president Akio Toyoda has challenged staff to reacquaint themselves with the company's founding philosophy to "be of service to society" and overcome the current difficulties the Japanese car-maker currently faces, Makoto Sasagawa, Toyota Motor Europe's chief co-ordinating executive, told The Sunday Times.
A fortnight ago, the embattled president said scrutiny from inside and outside the company had been "a good lesson" and Toyota would emerge stronger after the global recalls that have plagued the marque in recent months.
Mr Sasagawa is in Malta this weekend to join in the celebrations at local exclusive agent Michael Debono Ltd currently marking 50 years of Toyota in Malta and Europe. The firm's eponymous founder had sold Toyota's first vehicle in Europe. The family business is now in its third generation and enjoys a "very strong" bond with Toyota, according to Mr Sasagawa.
In Toyota's greater scheme of things, Malta's right-hand drive market has a key role to play: managed with the UK, economies of scale are created, allowing for the efficient and effective marketing of Toyota's full European line-up.
Since inception, Mr Sasagawa emphasised, one of Toyota's philosophies has been to "contribute to society through the manufacture of automobiles". To accomplish this, Toyota has established a corporate culture that places the customer first, and that develops technology by emphasising creativity and innovation, he said.
Asked how Toyota would endeavour to repair its damaged reputation, Mr Sasagawa replied that the company's first priority had been to ensure customers' safety.
"We have solved the current concerns by implementing and completing the recall campaigns in the fastest and most efficient way possible," he explained. "We wanted to minimise the inconvenience for our customers, and we wanted to fully reassure them. This has been our first goal. We have set up new initiatives such the Special Committee for Global Quality, where the newly appointed chief quality officers exchanged views on how to restore consumers' trust. One of their conclusions was the need for even closer cooperation with our dealers and our suppliers."
"This three-way cooperation will help us regain consumer confidence, step by step."
All manufacturers have faced recalls, Mr Sasagawa emphasised. Until its own recent ones, Toyota had experienced relatively few, but he conceded that the scale, combined with the brand's long-standing reputation for quality and safety, had resulted in the situation becoming a major global news story.
Did Toyota entirely deserve accusations levelled against it that it had the 'most badly handled vehicle recall in history' on its hands?
"Our first priority was to complete the recall campaigns in the fastest and most efficient way possible," Mr Sasagawa insisted. "For instance, in the UK, we have completed more than 93 per cent of the recall already. We have reached this level about three times more quickly than previous recalls, setting a new benchmark for a recall of this size in the UK."
As the currency crisis threatens Europe, where Toyota has production plants in the UK, France, Turkey, Russia, the Czech Republic and Poland with corresponding European suppliers, the car-maker is confident it can weather the storm.
As a truly global company, engineering and manufacturing vehicles in various regions, Toyota is able to navigate sales operations during periods of currency fluctuation, Mr Sasagawa pointed out.
He added the company had invested resources in incentives and advertising throughout Europe to reassure customers and to reinforce its reputation for quality, safety and value.
Short-term plans for the European product line-up include the improvement of technology for hybrids and the expansion of the eco-friendly range. Sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles to the public begin in 2012, and Toyota is striving to familiarise customers with these vehicles as it pushed forward next-generation eco-cars in the meantime.
Longer-term, Toyota is to give topmost priority to new environmental technologies like smart grids, using plug-in hybrids and electronic vehicles. Through its participation in demonstration and experimental projects around the world, the group will endeavour to put the technologies in practical use as it aims for the realisation of a low-carbon society.
Customers should continue to expect exciting products from Toyota's line-up, including the compact FT-86 concept unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show last year.
Earlier this month, Toyota said it had agreed to invest $50 million in young California-based electric car firm Tesla Motors with which it plans to cooperate on the development of vehicles, parts, production systems and engineering.
Asked whether products or innovations resulting from the Toyota-Tesla project would make it to Europe eventually, Mr Sasagawa would only say the manufacturers' tie-up was part of Toyota's ambitions to advance its technical and product development to eventually introduce pure electric vehicles.