Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda faced reporters March 1 in Beijing to speak about his company's global auto recall woes in an effort to dispel quality concerns in the world's largest car market.

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda bows at a news conference in Beijing on March 1. KYODO PHOTO

"I apologize to you from the bottom of my heart for causing concern and trouble in connection with Toyota's recalls around the world, including in China," he said at the outset of the news conference, vowing the carmaker will make utmost efforts to prevent similar problems and will appoint a chief quality officer for the Chinese market to that end.

He said he visited China right after his U.S. Congressional testimony at the end of Feburary "because I wanted to explain (about the recalls) directly to the Chinese people."

The visit shows how seriously the automaker sees the Chinese market as a source of growth in the future, auto analysts said earlier.

The number of cars being recalled in China is small compared with the more than 8 million Toyota vehicles recalled globally since last autumn.

Toyota told China in late January it will recall about 75,000 of its RAV4 sport utility vehicles produced and sold in China, due to potentially defective accelerator pedals.

"If Toyota can take active and suitable measures in China on time, it won't face the same big challenges it is facing in the United States because Chinese consumers are more sensitive to pricing, not the brand image," Zhang Xin, an analyst at Guotai Junan Securities Co., said.

Toyota's sales in China grew 21 percent to 709,000 units last year. It expects sales in the fast-growing economy to top 800,000 units this year.