AKIO TOYODA DELIVERS A SPEECH AT THE TOKYO AUTO SALON. AP.
Toyota announced on Thursday that Akio Toyoda will step down as president and CEO on April 1.
Toyota has been sluggish in developing a range of fully electric vehicles while it was under Toyoda's leadership,
- Toyoda is the grandson of Toyota's founder and has led the company since 2009.
- He said that his first few years as CEO were marked by "crisis after crisis," including the global recession that started in 2008, a major product recall, and the effects of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan.
- Toyoda will be replaced by 53-year-old Koji Sato, Toyota's Chief Branding Officer and president of the company's luxury brand Lexus.
- News of the leadership change came as a "huge surprise," according to a senior analyst at SBI Securities Koji Endo.
- Toyoda will become chairman of the board.
