Toyota Motor Corp Executive Vice President Akio Toyoda declined on Thursday to discuss the possibility of his taking over as president after media reports he could fill the post as early as April. "Today, these two cars are the stars," Toyoda, a grandson of company founder Kiichiro Toyoda, told a news conference to unveil two compact cars under the Toyota and Daihatsu Motor Co brands, when asked point-blank about the reports.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun daily reported on Tuesday that Toyota had decided to name Toyoda, 52, to take over President Katsuaki Watanabe's position in April, with Watanabe slated for the vice-chairmanship. If true, Toyoda would become the first member of the founding family to assume the role since 1995.
The report, which came a day after the world's biggest automaker slashed its annual outlook to forecast its first consolidated operating loss amid tanking global car demand, was matched by no other major Japanese newspaper. But it has led to a deluge of media reports in the United States.
The Wall Street Journal reported Watanabe would be stepping down due to Chairman Fujio Cho's health problems. Watanabe would replace Cho to relieve him of his duties as chairman of the automaker, as well as a leadership role at the Keidanren, one of Japan's most powerful business lobbies, the paper said.
Cho has had chronic back problems but is otherwise healthy, a Toyota official said. Several people who know the former president, however, said that Cho had been wanting to retire for some time. Speculation that Akio Toyoda could be next in line for the presidency first surfaced when he was named one of Toyota's eight executive vice presidents in 2005 after successfully steering the company's Chinese operations in his previous role.