Toyota Motor : JAMA Forms New United Front for Taking on Change (Part 1)

Chairman Toyoda

At today's Board of Directors meeting, we decided on our executive structure for the next term.

At the core of this new organization is a belief that our automotive industry is an industry in which we can all work together. With this in mind, I, myself, have been involved in JAMA's organizational reform and its responses to numerous crises.

Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic last year, we worked hard with our 5.5 million colleagues to ensure that automobiles would be the driving force behind economic recovery. I believe that the strength of the Japanese automotive industry is that it is a "full lineup" industry that has passenger cars, commercial vehicles, minivehicles, and motorcycles, backed by companies with excellent technologies in all genres.

However, amid such, each of those companies face unique challenges. For example, to disseminate CASE technologies and services, it will be important to start deployment through commercial vehicles. Also, to seriously strive to achieve carbon neutrality, it is essential to address minivehicles, which collectively support daily lives as the "people's car" of Japan, and motorcycles, which enrich diversity in mobility.

There is a limit to what one company can do on its own. I believe that we are now in a time in which it is very important to move forward with cooperation among all of us.

Thinking that I would like to see the people who know the most about their respective fields playing leading roles, last year I asked President Katayama of Isuzu, to represent commercial vehicles, and President Hidaka of Yamaha, to represent motorcycles, in roles as vice chairmen.

And this time, in addition to President Uchida of Nissan and President Mibe of Honda, President Suzuki of Suzuki has newly accepted the post of vice chairman as a representative of minivehicles. With this, I believe that we now have a structure for developing together with everyone a "full lineup" automotive industry

Although it was difficult to decide up until the very end whether I should accept the request to extend my term of office, our member companies voiced that they would like to continue under the same leader because we are in a time when major changes, such as striving to achieve carbon neutrality, are needed.

I have decided to accept an extension of my term in the hope that my own experience in dealing with crises might be useful in overcoming our current difficult situation. I will do my best for the future of the automotive industry and the future of Japan.

I humbly request your continued support of our automotive industry as we move forward together.