Akio Toyoda remains Toyota’s chairman for another year, despite investor concerns
Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder Kiichiro Toyoda, has been re-elected to the company’s board. Toyoda survived the election, along with nine other members of the board, despite concerns over leadership in recent years.
Away from the boardroom, Akio Toyoda is known by auto enthusiasts as a former CEO who isn’t afraid to try his hand at racing. He’s also been instrumental in some of the more ambitious enthusiast-centric projects from the Japanese automaker of late, including the GR Yaris and GR Corolla, in an effort to make the company less “boring.”
However, Toyoda has also come under fire for his stance on electric vehicles. He is a vocal proponent of the continued viability of combustion and hybrid technology. His critics accuse the company of being slow to embrace EVs while he continues to forge ahead with Toyota’s hybrid and hydrogen alternatives. However, last year, Toyota’s focus on furthering hybrid tech helped it achieve the biggest annual profit in Japanese history.
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Despite the sales success, Toyoda’s re-election wasn’t a dead cert. In early 2023, he stepped down from a 14-year term as company president to become chairman. Since then, the carmaker has been rocked by revelations of crash-test cheating under its subsidiary Daihatsu, while Hino, a Toyota-owned truck maker, was found guilty of falsifying emissions data.
According to Reuters, support for Toyoda is expected to have fallen from last year (as the full vote details will be released on June 19), with opposition primarily stemming from the company’s overseas investors. One such investor was New York City’s public employee pension funds, which voted against Toyoda.
Other concerns cited by investors include worries over the board’s supposed lack of independence and return on equity. While shares are up by 18 percent for the year, the scandals meant the company’s share price dropped by 10 percent. Despite this, Toyoda remains popular with domestic retail investors.
More details of shareholder support for Toyoda will be released on Wednesday.
