Akio Toyoda Steps Aside from Toyota’s CEO Role

• Toyota CEO and President Akio Toyoda steps out from the role that he held since 2009.

• Koji Sato takes the helm at Toyota but moves up from his spot as president of Lexus and Gazoo Racing.

• Toyoda’s edict of “no more boring cars’’ worked wonders for the automaker’s product development.

The man behind “no more boring cars” is stepping aside from his role as president and CEO of Toyota and focusing his time as the chairman of the board of directors. Filling his role in Toyota’s corporate hierarchy is the current Lexus and Gazoo Racing boss Koji Sato.

Toyoda joined Toyota in 1984 and later ascended to his spot on the board of directors. Along the way, he moved up to regional management and directorial roles before reaching the top of the executive ladder in 2009, when he was named president of the company.

Toyoda’s replacement followed a slightly different path. Sato joined the company as an engineer in 1992. Though, like Toyoda, Koji worked his way up through Toyota’s ranks as an engineer, and in 2017 he became executive general manager in charge of the Lexus luxury brand. After another bump to the Lexus vice presidency, Koji became the president of Lexus and Gazoo Racing in 2020.

While announced today, this shakeup won’t take effect until April of this year, and it seems likely that Toyoda’s product directive will live on with the Gazoo Racing boss at the helm. With the current roster of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing featuring a reborn Supra, a hot-rodded Yaris, a hopped-up Corolla, and the GR 86, there’s a good chance Toyota’s new boss can lead the charge with fun cars.

Do you think Toyoda’s side step to chairman will have any noticeable short-term direction shift at Toyota? Tell us your thoughts below.