The recent spate of recalls has badly tarnished the image of the world's largest carmaker, and undoubtedly it has to work hard to repair the damage.

The seemingly impenetrable reputation for quality that the Japanese carmaker Toyota had built through decades is now under serious threat. In a shocking development, the world's largest carmaker had to recall millions of vehicles because they might abruptly accelerate, putting the lives of drivers as well as the passengers in danger. The callback, which affects nearly nine million vehicles across the globe, poses operational, marketing, ethical, legal and political threats to the Japanese carmaker at a time when the entire industry is going through tough times. What is more unpleasant, as opined by many experts, is that Toyota had been receiving hundreds of complaints from nervous customers since 2003, but little or nothing was done to fix the problem. However, now that the safety crisis has entirely engulfed Toyota, not only is Toyota's brief reign as the world's largest carmaker in danger, but more importantly, so too is its grandstanding for unparalleled quality and management. Rivals, who used to operate under the shadow of Toyota's impregnable reputation, are now celebrating quietly and using all means to eat into Toyota's share.

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