At the world’s largest car manufacturer Toyota There is a change in leadership: CEO Koji Sato (56) is stepping down after just three years at the helm and will be replaced by CFO Kenta Kon, the Japanese company announced on Friday.
Sato would become vice chairman and focus on overarching industry issues, while Kon would be responsible for internal management. With the restructuring, the group wants to accelerate decision-making processes in order to be able to react better to the profound changes in the industry. Recently, criticism from investors about the planned takeover of the subsidiary Toyota Industries had increased. Minority shareholders had criticized the deal as non-transparent and the price as too low.
“Regime change” at Toyota
Sato only took over the helm in April 2023 from the company founder’s grandson, Akio Toyoda (69). Under his aegis, Toyota stuck to hybrid drives – a strategy that initially paid off as electric euphoria waned and secured record sales.
The Toyota share price rose by 111 percent, including dividends, during Sato’s time in the leadership position. However, the group has recently lost market share to Chinese rivals in regions such as Southeast Asia BYD.
Macquarie analyst James Hong spoke of “regime change”. While Sato is more interested in product development, Kon has more experience in financial issues. He is considered the driving force behind the controversial Toyota Industries deal.
The personnel changes were announced at the same time as the business figures for the third quarter. Thanks to the weak yen and austerity measures, Toyota raised its profit forecast for the current fiscal year (end of March). Operating profit is now expected to reach 3.8 trillion yen (around 23 billion euros). The company had previously assumed 3.4 trillion yen.