Toyota outlines sustainable growth plan amid profit pressure
New Toyota president Kenta Kon told shareholders the carmaker would pursue sustainable growth while keeping Akio Toyoda's "ever-better cars" policy.
- Toyota's president, Kenta Kon, affirmed the company's plan to continue investing heavily in growth, stating they can press forward without "applying the brakes."
- This commitment to sustainable growth comes as the carmaker faces pressure from a forecast of falling net profits for a third consecutive year.
- The company's strategy is based on a "multi-pathway" approach, which involves producing a wide range of vehicles, including eco-friendly models, to meet diverse market needs.
Toyota Motor Corp’s president Kenta Kon used the company’s annual general meeting on Wednesday (June 17) to reaffirm Toyota’s commitment to making “ever-better cars”, a policy long promoted by Chairman and former president Akio Toyoda.
Addressing shareholders at Toyota’s headquarters in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, Kon said the group intended to keep investing for growth after he took office in April.
“We are becoming a company that can keep pressing the gas pedal on growth investment without applying the brakes,” he said.
“We will work to realise sustainable growth.”
The pledge came as the Japanese carmaker works to strengthen its earning power, with consolidated net profit forecast to fall for a third straight year in fiscal 2026, which runs through next March.
Shareholders approved management’s proposed slate of six directors, including Toyoda and Kon.
Koji Sato, Kon’s predecessor and now Toyota’s vice chairman, left the board.
Toyoda was also asked about the certification fraud scandal disclosed in 2024.
“Hiding wrongdoing is the biggest problem. Those responsible should take action after admitting to the misconduct,” he said.
On Toyota’s multi-pathway strategy, which covers a broad range of vehicles including eco-friendly models, Toyoda said the company had “created products meeting the needs of the times.”
The meeting drew a record 9,040 shareholders, including 1,647 who joined from a remote venue in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture.
It was the first time Toyota had arranged a remote site outside Toyota City.
The annual gathering lasted one hour and 34 minutes, finishing 13 minutes earlier than the previous year’s meeting.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
