The world’s largest automaker starts 2023 with a big change – the CEO (who is also the president) is being replaced. Akio Toyoda confirmed he’s going to leave the active management part to someone else. That someone else is Lexus boss Koji Sato. He is going to replace Toyoda starting April 1. Here’s what you need to know.
Akio Toyoda is stepping down from his role as CEO and president of Toyota. However, he will not leave the company. Toyota's founder’s grandson is going to occupy the Chairman of the Board position, effectively ousting Takeshi Uchiyamada, who will resign from his post.
Toyota’s new CEO will be Koji Sato, the current president at Lexus. He is also the Chief Branding Officer of Toyota and President of the GAZOO Racing Company. Sato joined Toyota in 1992. He became Lexus’ and GAZOO Racing’s President in 2020. Two years ago, he was bestowed with the Chief Branding Officer role and now, he is getting ready to lead Toyota into the new zero-emission era.
Toyota has been struggling with its all-electric vehicle strategy. The bZ4X didn’t do well in cold weather tests and was launched with unexpectedly poor specs in a highly-competitive market. That’s not entirely surprising, considering that Akio Toyoda has been heard on numerous occasions speaking of a “silent majority” that does not want an EV-only future.
The executive might have been right. Other important automotive figures like Stellantis’ Carlos Tavares or various other officials from Mazda have occasionally spoken up about the dangers of a future where carmakers are forced to do only one type of vehicle.
However, governments around the world are pushing for a cleaner environment where battery-electric and maybe even fuel-cell vehicles can play a major role.
But more interesting is the fact that only two weeks ago, Akio Toyoda was telling Toyota and Lexus employees that he “can’t wait to travel to even more regions in 2023,” hinting at the close relationships he likes to have with the company’s workers. He also reminded everyone that being present at the office is important.
Today, Toyoda is leaving the management role and is taking a step back. However, he didn’t want to leave without saying that his 13 years as the boss of the world’s largest car manufacturer were complicated. “There was never a day that was peaceful,” said the executive.
Koji Sato, however, didn’t immediately announce a bold EV strategy. Instead, he said that Toyota will become a fully-fledged “mobility company.” This indicates a strong possibility that the automaker will start to expand its operations into other sectors and might try to compete with the likes of Tesla or Mercedes-Benz who put a high price on driving automation.
Finally, according to CNN Business, Toyoda said he believes that a strong foundation is being left behind but added that he wasn’t in a very comfortable position during his tenure.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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