Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, a scion of the founding family that has run the company since 2009, has announced that he is stepping down from his current positions to become president starting in April, the Japanese company said Thursday.
The brand director, Koji Sato (53), an executive who until now works as the leader of Toyota’s luxury Lexus division, will become president and CEO when Toyota steps down.
Takeshi Uchiyamada, today the president of Toyota, will leave that post.
“In order to drive the necessary changes at Toyota, I decided that it is best to support a new CEO while I become president.” Toyoda said.
The surprise move at Toyota comes as the brand is trying to speed up its transition to electric vehicles, a path that has found it further behind than its European rivals.
Toyota, with close to 10 million vehicles sold annually, shares that leadership with Germany’s Volkswagen and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. Together, they all sell close to 30 million vehicles and lead the rest.
Toyoda has held a rare position in the industry in recent years, as it questioned electric vehicles several times. His sayings contrast with what most car manufacturers say.
Toyoda criticized electric cars for the lack of charging infrastructure in some countries and the vehicles’ reliance on electricity that can be in short supply.
Following that thinking, unlike other brands, Toyota plans to focus on offering its customers a mix of options in the coming years that include hybrid vehicles and not just focus on 100 percent electric.
Akio Toyoda Steps Down as Toyota CEO
“In all honesty, it’s very difficult to reach them.” That’s what Akio Toyoda said in October 2022, talking about the goals of some brands to sell only electric cars in the coming years and the laws of various countries on the matter.
Toyoda acknowledged the challenges of moving faster on electrification, referring to the US state of California, where internal combustion engine vehicles (including hybrids) are banned by law from 2035.
“Just like what’s happening with 100 percent self-driving cars, which we should all be driving by now, electric cars are going to take a lot longer to catch on than the media wants us to believe,” said Toyoda, who is leaving his posted in April.
The vice president of Toyota Sales for North America, Jack Hollis, spoke in the same line of thought. The executive said that the brand does not believe that “the market is ready.”
“I don’t think the infrastructure is ready, and even if it is, how many people will be able to afford them: they have very high prices for many,” he added.
High prices is something that Tesla saw at the end of 2022 and decided on a discount strategy that is working.
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