Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda to step aside, become chairman

By MARI YAMAGUCHI and YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. has announced that its CEO and president, Akio Toyoda, will become chairman. The automaker said its chief branding officer Koji Sato will succeed him. The leadership reshuffle came without any forewarning, but the company had a lively promotional video prepared to highlight Toyoda and Sato’s love for electric vehicles and fast cars. Sato, who is 53, has been managing the Toyota group’s Lexus brand operations and motor racing activities. The Japanese automaker said the reshuffle was a move to stay abreast of social changes like electrification and becoming a wider “mobility company.”