is a Japanese business executive who is the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

. He was previously the company's president and chief executive officer (CEO). Toyoda is a great-grandson of the industrialist,

Sakichi Toyoda was a Japanese inventor and industrialist. He was born in Kosai, Shizuoka. The son of a farmer and sought-after carpenter, he started the Toyoda family companies. His son, Kiichiro Toyoda, would later establish Japan's largest automaker, Toyo ...

, and a grandson of both the founder of Toyota Motors,

Kiichiro Toyoda was a Japanese businessman and the son of Toyoda Loom Works founder Sakichi Toyoda. His decision to change Toyoda's focus from automatic loom manufacture into automobile manufacturing created what would become Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyod ...

, and the founder of the

Takashimaya is a Japanese multinational corporation operating a department store chain carrying a wide array of products, ranging from wedding dresses and other apparel to electronics and flatware. It has more than 12 branches strategically located in 2 ...

department stores corporation, Shinshichi Iida. On 1 April 2023, Toyoda stepped down as Toyota president and became chairman of the board. Toyota's chief branding officer and president of the

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...

division, Koji Sato, succeeded Toyoda as CEO.

Early life and education

Toyoda is the great-grandson of the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works founder

, and grandson of

founder

. He was born 3 May 1956, in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, to

Shoichiro Toyoda is a Japanese retired business executive who served as chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation between 1992–1999,Toyota Honorary Chairman as well as chairman of the influential beginning in May 1994 through May 1998. Under Toyoda's supervision, ...

and Hiroko (née Mitsui). Toyoda's family line have long dominated the upper management of the family businesses since the days his carpenter-farmer great-great-grandfather, Ikichi Toyoda, taught his son fabrication and carpentry. Akio Toyoda was the chief contender for the family business when

Katsuaki Watanabe is senior advisor at Toyota Motor Corporation. He was president and CEO of the company before Akio Toyoda assumed those positions on June 23, 2009. Watanabe, who earned a degree in economics from Tokyo's Keio University, joined Toyota upon gradu ...

was reassigned as Vice-Chairman in the wake of the quality control crisis. Toyoda completed his undergraduate degree in law at

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowmen ...

and was awarded his Masters of Finance at

Babson College Babson College is a private business school in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Established in 1919, its central focus is on entrepreneurship education. It was founded by Roger W. Babson as an all-male business institute, but became coeducational i ...

, Massachusetts. He would join the family business in 1984.

Career

As grandson of the company's founder, Toyoda joined Toyota's board of directors in 2000. In 2005, Toyoda was promoted to the position of executive vice president. In January 2009, it was announced that Toyoda was chosen as the forthcoming president of the company.Rowley, Ian
"It's Official: Toyota Scion to Be New Chief,"
''Business Week''. 20 January 2009. On 23 June 2009, he was confirmed as the new president, along with four new executive vice presidents and eight new board members. The previous president and CEO

became

vice chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

, replacing

Katsuhiro Nakagawa is the former vice chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation. Vice-Minister for International Affairs, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 1997 - 1998．Former president and CEO Katsuaki Watanabe replaced him as the new vice chairman of the comp ...

. In 2012, he was named Autocar's Man of the Year.

Master driver "Morizo"

As an avid auto racing fan and driver himself, Toyoda has participated in several auto races under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Morizo Kinoshita. At the

2009 24 Hours of Nürburgring The 2009 ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nürburgring is the 37th running of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. It took place over May 23–24, 2009. Manthey Racing's #1 Porsche claimed honours in the SP7 class and was the overall victor, completing 155 la ...

, he finished 81st overall and third in class in a

Lexus IS F The Lexus IS (XE20) is the second generation of the Lexus IS line of compact executive cars. Sold by Lexus since 2005, the line includes multiple V6 gasoline-powered models, in four-door sedan and two-door coupé convertible body styles. Add ...

, and 87th overall and fourth in class with a

Lexus LF-A The is a two-seat sports car manufactured by Lexus, the luxury car division of Toyota. It is the second model in the F marque line of performance vehicles from Lexus, following the IS F, and also the first standalone Lexus F model. Three conc ...

. At the

2014 24 Hours of Nürburgring The 2014 ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nürburgring was the 42nd running of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. It took place over June 19–22, 2014. The race set a new record for the total distance driven during a Nürburgring 24-hour race with 4,035 ...

, he finished 13th overall and first in class with a Lexus LF-A. At the

2019 24 Hours of Nürburgring The 2019 ADAC 24 Hours of Nürburgring was the 47th running of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, ...

, he finished 40th overall and third in class with a

Toyota GR Supra GT4 The J29/DB Toyota Supra, mainly marketed as Toyota GR Supra, is the fifth-generation of the Supra, a sports car produced by Toyota since 2019. Sold under Gazoo Racing (GR) branding, it replaced the previous model, A80, which stopped productio ...

. In 2016, Toyoda approved the project that would result in the

GR Yaris The is a performance-oriented variant of the XP210 series Yaris supermini/subcompact hatchback, in a segment commonly called the hot hatch. The vehicle is manufactured by Toyota with assistance from the company's Gazoo Racing (GR) division and ...

; during the development of that car, Toyoda (as Morizo) served as a test driver. Morizo crashed the first test car during a mid-winter test drive at a

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

track; after exiting the car on his own, he remarked that he did not "like the feel of it". As Morizo, Toyoda continued to drive development prototypes, and since the car's release, has campaigned the car in races.

Toyota global recalls and Congressional Statement

In the wake of massive global recalls ballooning to 8.5 million vehicles, Toyoda was invited to testify before the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

on 17 February 2010, which he accepted. A week later, he issued a prepared statement to the Congress. He focused on three key issues: Toyota's basic philosophy regarding quality control, the cause of the recalls, and "how we will manage quality control going forward". On 24 February 2010, accompanied by president and COO of Toyota Motor North America, Yoshimi Inaba, Toyoda testified before the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

' Oversight and Government Reform Committee. As the scion of a family known for their contributions to automated manufacturing, Toyoda was personally affected by the quality control crises. In his comments he is quoted as being "deeply sorry" and highlighted the relations between Toyota vehicles in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and Americans for fifty years.

Direction of Toyota

At a press event held on 14 December 2021, Toyoda unveiled multiple concept cars with battery electric drivetrains, a sign of faith in the future of the technology. In a later interview, he said "“People are finally seeing reality." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' assessed his bet on hybrid vehicles is how the company achieved its 2023 profit of 4.9 trillion yen—the highest in the company's history. Also in 2023, Toyoda stepped down from his role as CEO to become chairman.

Family tree

Notes

References

* Hasegawa, Yōzō. (2010). ''Rediscovering Japanese Business Leadership: 15 Japanese Managers and the Companies They're Leading to New Growth.'' Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.
OCLC 435422498
https://global.toyota/en/company/profile/executives/koji_sato.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Toyoda, Akio 1956 births Living people People from Nagoya Babson College alumni Chief executives in the automobile industry Japanese chief executives Keio University alumni Toyota people

Akio Akio (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese politician *, Japanese mathematician * Akio Ishii (石井昭男, bor ...

Japanese racing drivers Officers of the Legion of Honour Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers Presidents of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association