Toyota Motor has named an executive reported to have experience in production and corporate planning as its new president in a management reshuffle aimed at keeping the Japanese automaker’s momentous global growth going.
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The Associated Press (AP) said the automaker also appointed as executive vice president Akio Toyoda, the son of former Toyota President Shoichiro Toyoda and the grandson of the company’s founder, in a move that positions him as a top candidate for future Toyota president.
Katsuaki Watanabe, 62, who oversees procurement and business development, was named president in Wednesday’s routine leadership change, replacing Fujio Cho, 68, at the helm of the company, the report added.
AP noted that Cho, who became president in 1999, oversaw Toyota’s growth not only in the key North American market but also in Europe and booming markets like China. He will be promoted to vice chairman, and Hiroshi Okuda will stay on as chairman, the automaker said in a statement.
The news agency said that, under Cho’s tenure, Toyota became the world’s second largets automaker, surpassing Ford Motor, when the vehicle sales tally includes group companies Hino Motors and Daihatsu Motor – Toyota is targeting 8.5 million annual vehicle sales by 2006.
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By GlobalDataCho and Okuda reportedly are expected to continue to wield considerable influence over the direction of the automaker, and so the management changes aren’t expected to result in major policy shifts. Cho will replace Okuda as chairman next year, the company said.
“Toyota is moving solidly on course following its plan for growth, and that’s not affected by the changing of presidents,” Shinji Kitayama, auto analyst at Shinko Securities in Tokyo, told the Associated Press (AP).
Kitayama reportedly added that the promotion of a member of the Toyoda family had symbolic significance that could raise morale – the Toyoda family can be compared to the Ford family in its ring of glamour and flair for attracting worker loyalty.
AP said the continuing rise of Akio Toyoda, 48, who became board member in June 2000 and now serves as senior managing director, also symbolises Toyota’s shift toward younger management at a time when the long-entrenched rules of seniority are losing their grip on Japanese companies.
Toyoda has headed Toyota’s Chinese operations as well as its Internet business, the Associated Press noted, adding that he also served as vice president at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., a Fremont, California-based joint venture between Toyota and General Motors.
Okuda reportedly said the management shifts were meant to introduce change and promote younger managers at a time when Toyota needs to respond nimbly to regional needs – the average age of vice presidents will go down from nearly 64 to below 58.
“A company must change when things are going well. There’s no point in trying to change after things start going bad,” he the Associated Press.
Watanabe, who has supervised work in production control since the 1990s, reportedly said the biggest risk for Toyota is that it may grow arrogant and inflexible with size.
“I want to make the world’s best car at the cheapest price and the fastest speed in the world,” he told AP. “Everywhere I’ve worked, I’ve tried to build a good team.”
The news agency noted that Cho was key in preparing Toyota’s plant in Kentucky – he worked there from 1987 until his return to Japan in 1994, when he was named managing director. Cho reportedly said he will spend the next year assisting Watanabe and preparing for his own chairmanship.
Wednesday’s appointments will become final after shareholders’ approval in June, the Associated Press said.
