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Toyota has undergone tough times in recent years, starting with a massive recall fiasco in the U.S. that came on the heels of the financial crisis. It recalled more than 14 million vehicles globally for sticky gas pedals, faulty floor mats, problematic brakes and many other defects, spanning several years from 2009. Then its supply chain was devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan. President Akio Toyoda has stressed the automaker will pursue growth cautiously, making sure to avoid any recurrence of quality lapses that devastated its brand image. "Toyota is being extremely careful about quality after what it's gone through," said Koji Endo, auto analyst at Advanced Research Japan in Tokyo. "The recalls were Toyota's big headache for a while, and they have finally disappeared." Since last year, Toyota has faced a new set of problems with sales in China, where anti-Japanese sentiments emerged over a territorial dispute over tiny East China Sea islands. The dispute, which set off riots and boycotts, has sent China sales of Japanese automakers lower. The verdict is still out on how Toyota fares in emerging markets, Endo said. Making products that appeal to first-time car-buyers in places like India is a different game from wooing American drivers, he said. "Even the approach to design is different," said Endo. "Toyota has not been too successful in the past."
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