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Toyota Vietnam chooses to ignore accelerator issues
Vietnamese drivers are increasingly concerned that while Toyota has announced a global car recall their actions will bypass Vietnam.
Nguyen Thanh Long, who owns a Toyota RAV4, imported from the US in 2008, told VietNamNet that he has so many unanswered questions. “What should we do to find out if our purchased cars have problems with their accelerator pedal and need to be recalled? If so, what procedures should we follow? How about expenses?” he questioned.
Nguyen Thi Ha, Director of a pharmacy company, who has a Camry 2.4G imported from the US, complained that she feels so insecure when driving the car. “An accident could happen at any time,” she said “Meanwhile, in Vietnam, no one is coming forward to recall the problematic cars
Vu Viet Chien, an officer of Vietnam Airline, who has a RAV4 said: “ I purchased the car from an import company. They are just traders, and we cannot demand that they take responsibility.”
He added that when purchasing the car, he only received a guarantee from the import company, not from the manufacturer in the manufacturing country
“This is a global car recall campaign. Why doesn’t anyone in Vietnam represent Toyota in dealing with the problem in Vietnam? The benefit of Vietnamese consumers will be ignored?” he questioned.
According to the General Department of Customs, in 2009, Vietnam imported 3,000 Camry from the US, nearly 1,300 Corolla Altis and 200 RAV4.
Meanwhile, Toyota Vietnam has declined to comment on the accelerator pedal problem.
An official of Toyota Vietnam said that Toyota Vietnam does not have the right to speak about the dealings of its headquarter in Japan as well as the accelerator legal problems in the US. The official said that not something Toyota Vietnam has the power to deal with.
The official said that the accelerator pedal problem only occurs with the cars which have been installed with the accelerator pedal equipment provided by Toyota’s partners’ in the US, CTS Company. Meanwhile, Toyota Vietnam does not import car parts from CTS.
He advised Vietnamese buyers to contact importers to clarify information. The importers, after getting information about engine and chassis numbers, can contact US partners to clarify if the cars must be recalled. However, it is still unclear about what would happen next.
Meanwhile, importers all told VietNamNet that they have had no complaints from clients.
T, who specializes in importing Venza and Camry from the US, said that the explanation by Toyota Vietnam is not convincing.
He said: "We are just traders, manufacturers need to take responsibility for technique problems. I think that Toyota Japan has to assign tasks to their representatives in different markets to carry out the recall campaign"
Pham Huyen
vietnamnet
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