Toyota’s Choice for New CEO Means More of the Same — Success

The company elevated Kenta Kon from chief financial officer to chief executive officer while moving Koji Sato to the role of Vice Chairman and Chief Industry Officer. 

According to the company, the new leadership structure allows Sato to focus on the broader industry, including Toyota, while Kon will focus on internal company management.

“This change in roles is intended to accelerate management decision-making in response to changes in the internal and external environment and to establish a structure that will enable Toyota to fully carry out its mission of contributing to society through industry,” the company said in a statement.

Kon is a longtime confidant of Sato’s predecessor and corporate namesake Akio Toyoda. During the press conference, Kon let everyone know that much like Toyoda, he believes in hybrids when it comes to profitability.

Kon told reporters he “loves money” during the press conference. To that end, he plans to grow the automaker’s output of hybrids by 30 percent by 2028, resulting in a 40 percent global sales increase. The company’s new RAV4 hybrid is only available as a hybrid and officials have concerns about meeting the demand for the top-selling non-truck in the U.S.

And while Toyoda was a wet blanket about the future of electric vehicles, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Kon will. Prior to becoming the chief operating officer at Toyota, he was the chief financial officer at Toyota’s Woven technology subsidiary. In short, he’s not any EV, but instead pro product flexibility.

But the immediate push to expand hybrid production and sales keeps Toyota on the trail it’s been following for years — a trail blazed by Toyoda. It’s also the strategy that competitors like General Motors and Ford are now pursuing, after posting charges against earnings of $7.1 billion and $19.5 billion respectively.

[Images: Toyota]

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