Toyota Motor Corp. this week unveiled its new game plan under incoming Chief Executive Officer Koji Sato, laying out several changes across the enormous business as it pushes harder toward electrification. The company will reshuffle senior executives, rejig its management structure (notably, all-male) and focus on electrification and intelligent cars.
Unlike its long history of troubled communication around electric cars, Toyota’s message was clear: This is a technology transition, not just another vehicle-making exercise. That means the changes to manufacturing won’t just be incremental shifts away from the internal combustion engine; rather, it will be a complete overhaul. Sato acknowledged that the fundamental differences — how energy is converted and used, and the aerodynamics — mean each part and process will have to be adapted for EVs.
