It was announced yesterday that there will be a changing of the guard at Japanese giant Toyota, causing CEO Akio Toyoda to step down and replace him with Koji Sato, brand general manager at the Lexus division and president – Lexus is owned by Toyota. Akio Toyoda is also the grandson of the founder of a renowned car manufacturer and is synonymous with innovation and lifelong service to drivers. Today, however, the company is hard at work to respond to the industry’s massive shift to electrification, with the playing field completely turned on its head and traditional automakers shaken. Koji Sato will take office on April 1, with Akio Toyoda as president. The question of who will lead Toyota, Japan’s largest company and one of the most powerful auto conglomerates in the world, is a growing concern for investors. But the timing of the announcement came as a surprise.

Led by the 66-year-old Toyota, who has run the company for more than a decade, Toyota appears to be reluctant to embrace electric vehicles, arguing that the hybrid technology it pioneered in the once-market-leading Prius is a better fit for many. drivers. In addition, he actively promoted hydrogen-powered cars as the future, raising fears that Toyota would be left behind in the development of electric vehicles. After all, Elon Musk’s California-based all-electric car company, more impressive and flexible than the Japanese automaker, surpassed it in both innovation and share price. As Reuters notes, this insistence on hybrid cars and hydrogen has also drawn criticism from investors and environmental activists, the same ones who have previously widely praised its advances in technology and low emissions. “There is no question that Mr. Toyota was a capable CEO, but the entire automotive sector is in need of breakthrough change, and Toyota is lagging behind in our view, so a change in leadership could be an opportunity for a fresh start.” said Anders Selde, chief investment officer of Danish pension fund AkademikerPension, which has repeatedly pushed Toyota to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles.

Toyota, until now led by Akio Toyota, has been reluctant to switch to electric vehicles in favor of hybrid technology.

“The timing of the announcement of the change came as a surprise,” said Seiji Sugiura, an analyst at Tokyo-based Tokai Research Institute, who noted that there may have been a “sense of stagnation” within the company given the recent pressure on its price. Share. And he added in conclusion: “Probably, the daily routine in the line of duty will not change. However, Akio Toyoda’s removal as managing director could strengthen his symbolic position as president of the company, making it harder for the new director to put his own stamp on it.”