Toyota CEO Koji Sato is soon leaving his post as the top man at the world’s most popular car company, and he’s aware of the pressures his successor will face to keep the Japanese brand on top.
As reported by Automotive News, Sato – who vacates the CEO next month – issued a warning to Toyota’s closest allies at its Supply Partners Convention, as the brand faces slimming profit margins.
“Unless things change, we will not survive. I want everyone to acknowledge this sense of crisis,” Sato reportedly said.
“We continue to keep many customers waiting. Many of these stoppages stemmed from equipment or quality issues at both Toyota and our suppliers.
“To enable us to make more cars, we must step things up a gear in areas such as building quality into every process.”
Last year, the Toyota Motor Corporation – which includes Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino – delivered 11,322,575 automobiles globally, a new record which surpassed its own previous top figure.
However, Sato believes the car giant’s suppliers need to do more to elevate the brand’s overall output, as China’s rising car industry poses a looming threat to Toyota.
“Right now, we in the automotive industry are battling for our very survival,” Sato said.
“A difficult battle lies ahead. We must work together as one and strengthen our ability to prevail. To do that, we need to improve productivity across the board. Both as individual companies and as an industry, let’s transform how we fight to ensure our survival.”
Incoming CEO Kenta Con, currently Toyota’s chief financial officer, echoed his soon-to-be-predecessor’s sentiments, asking more of its suppliers to help achieve its goals.
“Going by the figures released in our financial results, some may feel that Toyota is in a secure and comfortable position. But that is certainly not the case,” Kon said.
“Each side drives the other to grow stronger. The only way to achieve this, I believe, is to rebuild our weakened competitive foundations and restore Toyota’s strength.”
With the Japanese financial year ending this week, Toyota is expected to announce its 2025 results in the near future.
While Sato was Toyota’s CEO in 2024 when it was hit by two scandals – one involving the carmaker cheating engine tests and another dating back to crash tests of older models – it was chairman Akio Toyoda who took the blame for these incidents, something which temporarily led to his popularity within the brand slipping.
However, Toyota appears to be in a period of growth in recent months, announcing the spin-off of its Century and Gazoo Racing (GR) products as new sub-brands.
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