TOKYO — A week into his role, Koji Sato, the new president and CEO of Toyota Motor, made his first public speech in a livestreamed news conference on Friday afternoon, where he pledged to pursue electrification “in a practical manner,” matching the carmaker’s product offerings to the demands of particular regions.
The world’s top automaker has been performing unimpressively in the fast-evolving industry, most notably lagging in sales of electric vehicles. As young rivals like Tesla of the U.S. and BYD of China threaten to conquer the rapidly expanding market, Toyota’s reshuffled management faces the urgent task of ramping up development in the field.