Akio Toyoda re-elected as chairman of Toyota Motor's board of directors

Shareholders of Japanese automotive giant Toyota Motor have re-elected Akio Toyoda as chairman of the board of directors, Reuters reports.

The re-election of the company's former CEO and great-grandson of the founder this year was without objection from two leading international advisory agencies – Glass Lewis and ISS, which had previously expressed reservations about corporate governance at the company.

The exact results of the vote have not yet been released, so it is unknown whether the level of support exceeded last year's figure of 72%, which was the lowest ever for a Toyota CEO.

Previously, Toyoda's support level was 85% in 2022 and 96% in 2021.

The re-election of the chairman of the company's board of directors took place against the backdrop of Toyota Motor's plans to buy out its subsidiary Toyota Industries, which specializes in the production of forklifts.

The deal is worth about $33 billion. The buyout price – 16,300 yen per share – has sparked outrage among foreign investors, who consider it undervalued and one that strengthens the Toyoda family's control over the group of companies.

Akio Toyoda is not on the board of directors of Toyota Industries, but he plans to invest 1 billion yen of his own money in this deal.

The company said the acquisition would allow for better coordination within the group without the pressure of short-term profit expectations, and would also help shape Toyota's new identity as a "mobility company."

Toyota Industries was founded in 1926 as Toyoda Automatic Loom Works to manufacture weaving looms. It was this company that later started the automotive division that would become Toyota Motor.

• From April 1, 2023, former Lexus President Koji Sato will replace Akio Toyoda (great-grandson of the company's founder) as the new CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation.