Toyota chief breaks silence as Prius recall eyed

NAGOYA/DETROIT (Reuters) – Toyota President Akio Toyoda apologized for safety problems that have left the Japanese carmaker “in crisis” as the group considered another recall — this time over the brakes on the newest Prius hybrids. “Believe me, Toyota cars are safe,” said Toyoda — the grandson of Toyota’s founder — breaking his near-total silence on the recall woes. The news conference came after U.S. rival Ford Motor Co also readied a solution for braking glitches on two of own hybrid models, in what appeared to point to a broader problem with the brakes on hybrid cars. Toyoda spoke at the company’s office in Nagoya, central Japan. “I would like to take this opportunity to apologize from the bottom of my heart for causing many of our customers concern after the recalls across several models in several regions,” he said.