Toyota Has A New CEO, Again. Here's What It Means For EVs, China And Beyond

Koji Sato, who has extensive engineering experience, is out after just three years. His replacement is a numbers guy.

Toyota's new CEO, Kenta Kon

Photo by: InsideEVs

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

Feb 6, at 3:42am ET

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Toyota appointed a new CEO today, ending Koji Sato’s tenure after just three years.
Sato took over the job from Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder, in 2023.
The largest automaker in the world is putting a financial expert behind the wheel for the first time since 2009.

Toyota has a new boss. Koji Sato, who was appointed CEO in January 2023, will step down on April 1. His replacement is Kenta Kon, the company’s current chief financial officer, who is widely regarded as one of the main forces behind the automaker’s impressive profits.

The move marks the beginning of a regime change at the top of the world’s largest automaker, as this is the first time since 2009 that Toyota has appointed someone who is not a car guy—either an engineer like Sato or a dedicated racer like now-Chairman Akio Toyoda—at the helm.

The Toyota bZ Woodland EV was developed during Koji Sato's tenure as CEO.

Photo by: Toyota

As part of the reshuffle, Sato will take on the roles of Vice Chairman and Chief Industry Officer (CIO). Meanwhile, Kenta Kon will become Toyota’s new President and Chief Executive Officer.

According to the Japanese automaker, “under this new leadership structure, Sato will focus on the broader industry, while Kon will focus on internal company management.” Last month, Sato was also appointed the head of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), and has been serving as the Vice Chair of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) since May of last year.

Yoichi Miyazaki, who is currently Toyota’s Operating Officer (OO), will take Kenta Kon’s role of CFO on April 1, while also retaining his current position.

As if to head off criticism about the world's largest automaker appointing a finance chief as its CEO, Kon and other Toyota officials had this to say in a press conference, according to Nikkei Asia:

Recognizing the threat the Japanese car industry faces from Chinese rivals, Toyota added, "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."

Kon told a Friday press conference that Toyota had engineers leading the charge in technological development. "My role is to create a robust investment environment where they can freely experiment with various ideas," he said.

Kon is also CFO of Woven by Toyota, the automaker's advanced software unit.

The "strengthen international competitiveness" part is interesting here. The Japanese auto industry is heavily dependent on Toyota; it holds stakes in Subaru, Mazda, Isuzu and Suzuki, and its vast network of subsidiary companies supplies parts to the entire sector. As goes Toyota, so goes Japan's car business as a whole, and this move could be seen as a way of shoring up defenses against BYD and China's other automakers.

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During Sato’s tenure, the automaker dug deeper into its “multi-pathway” powertrains approach, and it paid off. Toyota went against the trend when other automakers had bet bigger on EVs, only to face the harsh realities of changing policies and trade barriers. Meanwhile, the Japanese car manufacturer’s shares went up 111% under Sato’s leadership.

That said, Toyota has slowly but surely expanded its portfolio of all-electric vehicles and plans to continue doing so in the coming years.

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