Toyota said today in Japan that effective 1 March 2024 Chairman Matsubayashi and President Okudaira will resign from their posts at its troubled Daihatsu affiliate that has been enmeshed in false certification test scandals of the vehicles it makes for Toyota for more than a year.
The post of chairman will be abolished, and the new president will be Masahiro Inoue, currently chief officer of Toyota’s Latin America & Caribbean Region. Masanori Kuwata of Toyota Motor Kyushu will be newly appointed as executive vice president in addition to current Executive Vice President Hoshika.
“President-to-be Inoue has for many years been working on structural reform of Toyota’s Latin American business, including a renewed regional management system involving Brazil and Argentina. Despite the many difficult decisions he has had to make, he is a leader who has moved reforms forward by implementing thorough dialogue with front-line members. Utilizing this experience, he will lead the revitalization of Daihatsu as the person responsible for ‘on-site management,’ Executive Vice President-to-be Kuwata will promote corporate cultural and organizational reform initiatives by leveraging his experience in human resources and on-site management,” Toyota said.
Daihatsu Executive Vice President Hoshika will continue to be in charge of building a system for regulation-related and certification-related operations that do not cause “certification irregularities” as the chief officer of Daihatsu’s Quality Management Group.
Keiko Yanagi of Toyota’s Customer First Promotion Group, with experience in certification operations, will be newly appointed as a director. “She will support the execution of reliable certification operations by leveraging her extensive knowledge of legal certification,” Toyota said.
“We believe that the root of the certification irregularities was that Daihatsu placed a burden on its workplaces that exceeded their capacities. To rebuild Daihatsu, we believe that management must go to the front lines, carefully listen to the opinions of the people there, and create a system that enables management to restore sovereignty to the workplace. Based on this, we considered what to do and made decisions from the perspective of putting the right person in the right place.
“Going forward under the new structure, while continuously holding dialogue both internally within Daihatsu and with its stakeholders, we will consider and determine the concrete form of Daihatsu’s future business and the structure starting from the post of chief officer downward that will promote it. After doing so, we would then like to set up an opportunity in the new fiscal year to explain Daihatsu’s new structure and management direction,” Toyota said.
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About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Toyota Cleans Daihatsu House Over False Tests
Toyota said today in Japan that effective 1 March 2024 Chairman Matsubayashi and President Okudaira will resign from their posts at its troubled Daihatsu affiliate that has been enmeshed in false certification test scandals of the vehicles it makes for Toyota for more than a year.
The post of chairman will be abolished, and the new president will be Masahiro Inoue, currently chief officer of Toyota’s Latin America & Caribbean Region. Masanori Kuwata of Toyota Motor Kyushu will be newly appointed as executive vice president in addition to current Executive Vice President Hoshika.
“President-to-be Inoue has for many years been working on structural reform of Toyota’s Latin American business, including a renewed regional management system involving Brazil and Argentina. Despite the many difficult decisions he has had to make, he is a leader who has moved reforms forward by implementing thorough dialogue with front-line members. Utilizing this experience, he will lead the revitalization of Daihatsu as the person responsible for ‘on-site management,’ Executive Vice President-to-be Kuwata will promote corporate cultural and organizational reform initiatives by leveraging his experience in human resources and on-site management,” Toyota said.
Daihatsu Executive Vice President Hoshika will continue to be in charge of building a system for regulation-related and certification-related operations that do not cause “certification irregularities” as the chief officer of Daihatsu’s Quality Management Group.
Keiko Yanagi of Toyota’s Customer First Promotion Group, with experience in certification operations, will be newly appointed as a director. “She will support the execution of reliable certification operations by leveraging her extensive knowledge of legal certification,” Toyota said.
“We believe that the root of the certification irregularities was that Daihatsu placed a burden on its workplaces that exceeded their capacities. To rebuild Daihatsu, we believe that management must go to the front lines, carefully listen to the opinions of the people there, and create a system that enables management to restore sovereignty to the workplace. Based on this, we considered what to do and made decisions from the perspective of putting the right person in the right place.
“Going forward under the new structure, while continuously holding dialogue both internally within Daihatsu and with its stakeholders, we will consider and determine the concrete form of Daihatsu’s future business and the structure starting from the post of chief officer downward that will promote it. After doing so, we would then like to set up an opportunity in the new fiscal year to explain Daihatsu’s new structure and management direction,” Toyota said.
AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.