Akio Toyoda Is Still Playing The Long Game
When I sat down for a rare roundtable discussion with former Toyota CEO, now chairman Akio Toyoda himself—he doesn’t often grant interviews, preferring to reach customers directly through a company news portal instead—he had plenty to say about the future. He said he’s been a misunderstood combatant in a war where carbon emissions are “the enemy.” He continues to champion a mixed approach to powering cars in the future that Toyota may be uniquely positioned to pull off. Even as his handpicked replacement, former Lexus and Gazoo Racing chief Koji Sato, leads an aggressive expansion into EVs, Toyoda’s approach isn’t going anywhere.
Neither is he. Toyoda may be done as president, but his presence in public and on the company’s decisions will be felt for a long time. He’s not done proving himself yet. And his legacy is still probably far from written.
