As Chinese EV Exports Increase, Toyota Shakes up Leadership
WASHINGTON — Toyota Motor Corp. today announced its current CEO would be demoted, effective April 1, and the company’s current chief financial officer Kenta Kon will assume the top role. In the press conference announcing the leadership shift, Toyota said, “As the automotive industry faces a challenging business environment, there is a growing need to accelerate practical initiatives for industry collaboration to strengthen international competitiveness.” In response, Adam Zuckerman, senior clean vehicle campaigner with Public Citizen’s Climate Program, issued the following statement:
“By demoting Sato, Toyota is finally acknowledging it has been far too resistant to build, market and sell EVs. Unless Toyota embraces the electric future, it will continue to lose market share to international rivals. New CEO Kenta Kon has the opportunity to save Toyota, unless anti-EV chairman Akio Toyoda continues to undermine Toyota’s future success.
“Toyota’s move is a warning sign for U.S. automakers enthralled with Trump’s gas-powered fever dreams: the global automotive industry is rapidly transforming. Legacy automakers will either wither and die as competitors make cheap EVs, or they can transform. No matter what Trump says, the supremacy of fossil fuel-powered cars and trucks is not a smart investment.”
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