WASHINGTON/DETROIT - A congressional panel raised the stakes on Thursday in a showdown with Toyota Motor Corp. by asking the automaker's president to testify about a series of safety recalls that has rocked its reputation and sales, according to Reuters.

Rep. Edolphus Towns, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said on Thursday he had sent an invitation to Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota's founder, to appear before his panel next Wednesday.

A day earlier Toyoda had told reporters that he would dispatch the company's North American chief, Yoshimi Inaba, to the briefing but had no plans to appear himself.