Even though the apology from Toyota Motor Corporation's President Akio Toyoda was quite sincere, Chinese consumer faith in Toyota's quality still needs some for restoration. At the same time, many simultaneously question the Chinese auto recall system.

Let's take a closer look with reporter Liu Min.

Reporter:

Amid the frequent Toyota recalls, Chinese consumer impressions regarding renowned Japanese vehicle giant have been greatly tainted. An online poll shows that 80 percent of Chinese netizens voted that they are quite disappointed with Toyota's quality and will not buy Toyota products again.

A RAV4 owner surnamed Wang is one of them.

"I spent nearly all of my savings on this vehicle. I cherished it very much, but now I dare not drive it any more. I'm still waiting for the dealers' recall to get it fixed."

But another thing letting down the Chinese consumers is the inefficiency of the domestic auto recall system. Right before Toyota's recall in China, some other problems such as oil leaks and sudden wheel locks also began to emerge in the Chinese market. A Chinese consumer last night was protesting against Toyota outside the Akio Toyoda's press conference. Her 2008 Camry 240G had an accident due to a brake malfunction and the whole car rolled over and hit the road shield. As early as April 2009, Toyota once called back part of the Camry cars with brake problems. But the dealer informed her that her car was not included in the range of recalls. No one else has informed her that she can also report to the inspection bureaus.

Automobile specialist and analyst Jia Xinguang says the whole auto recall system in China is beyond compare with the American one as their system is more rigid and reacts much quicker.

"The recall system in the US is a law but not an administrative regulation like ours. The biggest problem now is that the quality inspection departments don't have access the faulty reports."

In 2009, the Chinese market made up only 2 percent of auto recalls compared to 10 percent in the United States. The experts say it's not because the Chinese market lacks auto problems, but instead for lack of malfunction reports in the inspection system. The administrative bureaus are short of precise statistics to monitor the market. The reaction towards potential auto problems is also quite slow. Nan Chen, an auto market analyst and commentator says the current recall system in China has big loopholes.

"I think China needs to examine itself on whether our administrative system has the same ability to discover the problem and to solve it. Usually, the investigation of an accident involves cooperation among multiple departments. My suggestion is to establish a brand new department just like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States which involves public security, quality administration, and insurance administration as well as national appraisal departments."

Akio Toyoda admitted that the recall crisis this time is due to their quick development and malfunctioned management. Since 2009, China has become the largest auto manufacturer in the world, but with such outstanding production and sales performance, similar risks beyond the soaring development needs to be considered. Analysts say domestic auto brands not only need self-discipline to guarantee their product quality, but also the domestic auto market needs a rigid lawful monitoring and inspection system in order to maintain healthy development.

For China Drive, I'm Liu Min.