Nicknamed "the prince" by Japanese media, Akio Toyoda is the first family member to run the company in 14 years
Akio, who has been working with the Tokyo based Toyota for 24 years, now faces the arduous task of steering the company that his grandfather founded out of the woods.
Right candidate
Toyoda had always been a frontrunner and has been viewed as an ideal candidate to head the company. He takes the driver’s seat at the time when the world's No.1 automaker is going through the worst downturn in its history.
A new management team that includes four new executive vice presidents and eight new board members will support Akio in this hour of crisis.
Yoshiaki Kawano, an automotive analyst with CSM Worldwide in Tokyo, opined, "I don't think it's going to get any worse than now, so there's nowhere for him to go but up."
Kawano praised Akio as somebody who is very focused on the job and knows the automobile industry like the back of his hand. “He's a car guy ... he's not going to get the company involved in selling houses and motorboats," Kawano said.
The recession impact
Like all other global automakers that are reeling under the current economic recession, Toyota has also found the going tough. The automobile behemoth posted its first ever annual loss of $4.5 billion in 2008.
The first three months of 2009 have already accounted for a loss of $7.7 billion for the company.
The only bright spot in recent times has been the unbelievable 1,80,000 orders that Toyota bagged in the debut month for its third generation Prius model. Other than that, it is a sad story.
Speaking at the annual general meeting of the company, outgoing President Katsuaki Watanabe apologized for having caused anxiety to the shareholders and warned, “We expect to face continued hardship in our business environment for the near term, despite signs of recovery in some areas."
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