In a surprise press conference February 6, Toyota announced that president Koji Sato will relinquish his role and pass the baton to Kenta Kon, the company’s Chief Financial Officer. Sato, who owns an AE86 and said it was his life’s dream to revive the Celica, served an relatively short tenure as head of the company. Kon is a numbers guy who is a self-proclaimed fan of minivans.
Sato led the company for three years, shorter than the five or so years that is typical, and much shorter than his predecessor Akio Toyoda’s 14 years. When Sato took the job in 2023, Toyoda took the role of chairman, which allowed him to continue guiding the direction of the company.
Sato now becomes vice chairman, which presumably means Toyoda will continue serving as chairman for the foreseeable future. Sato also takes on a new role of CIO, or chief industry officer, while he continues to serve as president of JAMA, the Japan Auto Manufacturers Association. This role will allow Sato to oversee a bigger swath of Japan’s auto industry in general, and promote Toyota’s goals of industry collaboration and increasing Japan’s auto industry competitiveness globally.
Meanwhile, Kon is an accountant that said at the press conference, “I love money and I love numbers.” Toyota is trying to spin himi as a “car guy” because he professed a love for minivans. During the press conference, Sato said that he once had a heartfelt conversation about the Toyota Noah with Kon. “Yes, I love cars too,” he responded.
It’s an unexpected shift, to be sure. Known car guy Toyoda genuinely seemed like buds with Sato. They often appeared together in Toyota produced videos, laughing, driving, and having fun together. It’s not often you see executives of a major car company hanging around like you do with your car bros, but they seemed like they truly enjoyed cars together. Kon, other the other hand, has not really had a public persona.
Of course, the big question is what will happen with the Celica. Kon admitted that he hasn’t been briefed about the rumored Celica, joking, “I think the fact that they haven’t told me means things are progressing smoothly.” Kon also seemed eager to reassure the press that he wasn’t just another beancounter. “I’m from the generation that watched Take Me Skiing so the Celica GT-Four is definitely something I’d like to own.”
Kon also said, “If we have a solid financial foundation I can let my engineers do what they want.” In one of his final statements as president, Sato concluded by saying, “Cars born when you tell employees ‘make this’ from above won’t be interesting. I think it’s the job of management to make sure that people on the front lines have fun and that the flame of passion doesn’t die out.”
