Toyota shareholders back Akio Toyoda, new CEO Kenta Kon joins board

Toyota Motor shareholders endorsed continuity at the company’s 122nd Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting in Toyota City, re-electing Akio Toyoda as chairman and backing new chief executive Kenta Kon as a board member. The vote also approved four other directors and came as Koji Sato stepped down from the board, giving Kon his first annual meeting as CEO since taking the job on April 1.

The result read as a referendum on Toyota’s distinctive pace in the electric-vehicle transition. Rather than bet everything on one drivetrain, Toyota has stuck with a multi-pathway strategy that keeps hybrids, battery electrics, plug-ins and other systems in play depending on region and use case, a model that has continued to benefit from strong hybrid sales in the United States and Japan.

Kon told shareholders after the meeting that Toyota would keep investing steadily in growth areas such as AI, robotics and its multi-pathway powertrain strategy while avoiding any sudden shift that could disrupt the business. That message fits Toyota’s long-running argument that the auto industry will not converge on a single solution, especially as tariffs, uneven charging infrastructure and different customer needs shape demand in different markets.

The board changes also formalized a wider management reshuffle. Toyota said its leadership now includes Toyoda as chairman, Kon as president and representative director, and Hiroki Nakajima and Yoichi Miyazaki as executive vice presidents and representative directors, alongside outside and audit committee directors Kumi Fujisawa, George Olcott, Christopher P. Reynolds, Masahiko Oshima and Hiromi Osada. Sato, who had been vice chairman and chief industry officer, left the board.

The vote carried added weight because Toyoda’s re-election last year came amid criticism over Toyota’s 4.7 trillion yen, or $33 billion, bid to take Toyota Industries private. Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services backed him after opposing him in prior years, underscoring how much investor sentiment has shifted toward rewarding stability when the strategy still produces results.

Kon’s promotion reflects that same balance. Toyota said in February that he would succeed Sato as president and chief executive, with Sato saying the change was necessary for Toyota and the industry’s future. Kon said he would focus on strengthening earnings power and lowering Toyota’s break-even point to better withstand U.S. tariffs. Automotive pressures remain real, from profit strain to a loss of market-cap leadership in Japan, but shareholders signaled they are willing to give Toyota time to defend a slower, hybrid-heavy identity.