Toyota names Koji Sato new CEO as Akio Toyoda takes chairman role

Toyota Motor Corp

The chief executive of Toyota Motor Corp, Akio Toyoda will step down as head of the company his grandfather founded, the Japanese automaker. Koji Sato, the automaker’s 53-year-old chief branding officer, who is also president of Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus, will take over as chief executive from April 1, as Akio Toyoda becomes chairman. The current chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada will drop his chairman title but remain on the board.

During his more than a decade at the top, Toyoda presided over the carmaker during a period of intense change in the auto industry and rising uncertainty about how legacy automakers such as Toyota can fend off the challenge from newer – and often nimbler – challengers such as Tesla.

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Sato started his career at Toyota in 1992, before rising through the ranks to become chief engineer of Lexus International, a luxury auto brand of Toyota, in 2016, according to his profile on the Toyota website. He has held positions as the president of Lexus International and Gazoo Racing Company, Toyota’s motorsport brand, since 2020. He also took on an executive role at Toyota and became its chief branding officer in January 2021.

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