Toyota president Akio Toyoda to become chairman; Koji Sato to replace him as CEO

Top-selling Toyota named Koji Sato as its new president and CEO on Thursday, in a surprise reshuffle that sees third-generation chief executive Akio Toyoda step aside to become chairman. The Japanese automaker said that Sato, 53, will also become operating officer when the changes to its executive structure come into effect on April 1.

Sato - previously Toyota's chief branding officer, and president of its luxury Lexus brand - will take the helm at a time of major upheaval for the auto industry, with electric vehicles now taking centre stage.

He is the same age as Toyoda was in 2009 when he became the company's youngest president, as the firm returned to its family foundations after the global financial crash.


"Being young is itself a key attribute," Toyoda told reporters.

"He has youth, and like-minded colleagues -- I expect this team to go beyond the limits that I cannot break through."

Toyoda, now 66, is the grandson of company founder Kiichiro Toyoda. His father Shoichiro Toyoda also led Toyota in the 1980s and 90s.

He is known as a charismatic leader, having steered the group through a quality-control scandal that saw him apologise before the US Congress, and supply chain chaos caused by Japan's 2011 quake and tsunami.

More recently, he has worked to strengthen Toyota's ambitions in the key electric vehicle sector.

The company pioneered hybrid cars, but some critics say it has been slow to make the shift to battery-powered electric vehicles even at a time of high demand for low-emission automobiles.

In December 2021, Toyota hiked its electric vehicle sales goal by 75 percent and said it planned to roll out 30 battery-powered electric models by the turn of the decade.

Sato, who has worked for Toyota since graduating in 1992, describes himself as "someone who loves making cars that make drivers smile", Toyoda said.

"I'm an engineer and have long been engaged with developing cars. I love making cars," Sato said.

Toyoda said he had advised the new CEO of the importance of teamwork.

"To promote change in an era in which the future is unpredictable, the head of management must continue to stand on the front lines. For that, stamina, energy and passion are indispensable."

Toyoda will replace Takeshi Uchiyamada, 76, as board chairman.

Born in 1956 in the city of Nagoya where Toyota is based, as a child Toyoda wanted to become a taxi driver.

He is a passionate motorsports fan and has even competed in races himself -- using the pseudonym "Morizo" to deflect attention from his day job as a chief executive.

Toyoda studied law in Tokyo and earned an MBA at a US business school before joining Toyota in 1984 and climbing the ranks, as family tradition dictates.

Although the Toyodas own just a small percentage of Toyota's stock, several subsidiaries are run by extended family members in a complex cross-ownership system.