On April 1st, Akio Toyoda will stand down from his positions as president and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation. He will then be replaced as chairman of the board of directors. He will be replaced by Koji Sato, who is in charge of Toyota’s motorsports and performance car division, Gazoo Racing, and the Lexus brand. Under Toyoda, the company needed to make electric vehicles (EVs) faster and instead focused on hybrids. This may change with new, younger leadership, though. Today, Toyota Motor Corporation announced that Akio Toyoda, the president and CEO of the Japanese automaker, will leave his job on April 1st. Takeshi Uchiyamada, the current chairman of the board of directors, will step down but stay on the board. Toyoda, who is 66 years old, will become the new chairman. Since 2009, Kiichiro Toyoda’s grandson, Toyoda, has been the company’s CEO. His replacement will be Koji Sato, who is in charge of both Lexus and Gazoo Racing. Gazoo Racing is the part of Toyota that works on racing and built the GR Supra and GR Corolla. Sato, who is 53, was given this job in 2020. The news could mean that Toyota is changing its mind about electric cars. Even though the Prius is a hybrid car, Toyota has hesitated to commit to an all-electric lineup under Toyoda’s leadership. They are worried about the surplus of raw materials needed if they do. The bZ4X, Toyota’s first dedicated electric vehicle, did not do well when it came out. Last year, it was recalled and stopped sales because the wheel hub nuts were not up to par. Even though the automaker is bringing back the electric crossover, its sales goals are low. But now that Toyoda is retiring, the company’s goals may change. “Because I love cars so much, I’m an old-fashioned person when it comes to digitization, electric vehicles, and connected cars,” Toyoda said, as quoted by The Financial Times. Because that’s who I am, I must be a car guy. He also said that he needed to “take a step back” to let young people “open a new chapter in the story of how transportation will develop” after admitting that the new employees would be able to change the company’s direction. In 2021, the company showed off several possible future electric cars and said it would invest $35 billion in them. Sato’s hiring could produce many of these ideas because there will be more money for electrification. Still, Sato’s ties to Gazoo Racing may help Toyoda keep its “car guy” attitude, which has put the company at the top of the market for low-cost performance cars in recent years.
