By Jonathan D. Salant
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. is armed with one
of the auto industry’s biggest lobbying budgets as it faces U.S.
government and congressional inquiries into millions of vehicles
recalled for sudden acceleration.
A decade ago, Toyota spent $685,684 on Washington lobbying,
Senate disclosure documents show. Last year, the world’s largest
automaker spent $5.2 million, more than seven times the 1999
amount, and passed one of the big three U.S. automakers,
Chrysler Group LLC, for the first time.
“Toyota learned the lobbying game swiftly and ahead of
most other non-U.S. carmakers,” said Rogan Kersh, associate
dean of New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service.
“They’ve spent resources strategically, hired the right kinds
of people and have been able at least to gain a hearing when
they have questions or concerns about legislation or proposed
regulations.”
Toyota has recalled almost 8 million vehicles on five
continents to repair defects linked to unintended acceleration.
At least three U.S. congressional committees plan hearings into
whether the recalls were handled properly by Toyota and the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The company bolstered its Washington team last week by
hiring the Glover Park Group, a public relations, crisis
management and lobbying firm headed by several former officials
in Democratic President Bill Clinton’s administration.
‘Work to Do’
“We have a lot of work to do to make sure we are
effectively communicating what the company and our dealers are
doing regarding the recalls, and emphasize that the company is
doing everything it can to fix any safety issues as quickly as
possible,” said Martha Voss, a Washington spokeswoman for
Toyota.
The $5.2 million spent last year by Toyota City, Japan-
based Toyota to influence Congress and federal agencies exceeded
the $3.8 million spent by Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler.
Toyota also outspent Japan-based automakers Nissan Motor Co. of
Yokohama and Honda Motor Co. of Tokyo.
Detroit-based General Motors Co., the second-biggest
automaker, spent $8.6 million last year, while Dearborn,
Michigan-based Ford Motor Co. spent $7 million. Toyota is
accelerating its spending at a faster clip, with an increase of
almost 660 percent since 1999, compared with GM’s 48 percent and
Ford’s 67 percent.
Among the 29 people registered to lobby for Toyota last
year was one former lawmaker, Bill Brewster, a Democrat who
represented Oklahoma in the House of Representatives. Eighteen
others worked for Congress or the executive branch.
“The real test comes now, when the company is facing a
real safety crisis and lots of questions, rather than smiling
faces, on Capitol Hill,” Kersh said.
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. is armed with one
of the auto industry’s biggest lobbying budgets as it faces U.S.
government and congressional inquiries into millions of vehicles
recalled for sudden acceleration.
A decade ago, Toyota spent $685,684 on Washington lobbying,
Senate disclosure documents show. Last year, the world’s largest
automaker spent $5.2 million, more than seven times the 1999
amount, and passed one of the big three U.S. automakers,
Chrysler Group LLC, for the first time.
“Toyota learned the lobbying game swiftly and ahead of
most other non-U.S. carmakers,” said Rogan Kersh, associate
dean of New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service.
“They’ve spent resources strategically, hired the right kinds
of people and have been able at least to gain a hearing when
they have questions or concerns about legislation or proposed
regulations.”
Toyota has recalled almost 8 million vehicles on five
continents to repair defects linked to unintended acceleration.
At least three U.S. congressional committees plan hearings into
whether the recalls were handled properly by Toyota and the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The company bolstered its Washington team last week by
hiring the Glover Park Group, a public relations, crisis
management and lobbying firm headed by several former officials
in Democratic President Bill Clinton’s administration.
‘Work to Do’
“We have a lot of work to do to make sure we are
effectively communicating what the company and our dealers are
doing regarding the recalls, and emphasize that the company is
doing everything it can to fix any safety issues as quickly as
possible,” said Martha Voss, a Washington spokeswoman for
Toyota.
The $5.2 million spent last year by Toyota City, Japan-
based Toyota to influence Congress and federal agencies exceeded
the $3.8 million spent by Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler.
Toyota also outspent Japan-based automakers Nissan Motor Co. of
Yokohama and Honda Motor Co. of Tokyo.
Detroit-based General Motors Co., the second-biggest
automaker, spent $8.6 million last year, while Dearborn,
Michigan-based Ford Motor Co. spent $7 million. Toyota is
accelerating its spending at a faster clip, with an increase of
almost 660 percent since 1999, compared with GM’s 48 percent and
Ford’s 67 percent.
Among the 29 people registered to lobby for Toyota last
year was one former lawmaker, Bill Brewster, a Democrat who
represented Oklahoma in the House of Representatives. Eighteen
others worked for Congress or the executive branch.
“The real test comes now, when the company is facing a
real safety crisis and lots of questions, rather than smiling
faces, on Capitol Hill,” Kersh said.
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