Toyota Shareholders Re-Elect Akio Toyoda to Board, Rejecting Activist Push
Last year longtime Toyota leader Akio Toyoda gained 96% support from shareholders, but this year he faced opposition. Photo: KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS By River Davis June 14, 2023 1:11 am ET TOYOTA CITY, Japan— Toyota Motor shareholders re-elected longtime leader Akio Toyoda to the board Wednesday, rejecting a push by some investor groups in the U.S. and Europe over his stance on electric vehicles. The company didn’t say what percentage of shareholders supported the renomination. Last year Toyoda earned 96% support. The company said the vote count would be released Thursday. Toyota shares were up more than 5% in Wednesday trading in Tokyo, to their highest level since early 2022. Shareholders also rejected a proposal from three European as
Last year longtime Toyota leader Akio Toyoda gained 96% support from shareholders, but this year he faced opposition.
Photo: KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS
By
TOYOTA CITY, Japan— Toyota Motor shareholders re-elected longtime leader Akio Toyoda to the board Wednesday, rejecting a push by some investor groups in the U.S. and Europe over his stance on electric vehicles.
The company didn’t say what percentage of shareholders supported the renomination. Last year Toyoda earned 96% support. The company said the vote count would be released Thursday.
Toyota shares were up more than 5% in Wednesday trading in Tokyo, to their highest level since early 2022.
Shareholders also rejected a proposal from three European asset managers including Danish fund AkademikerPension to make Toyota management reveal more about the automaker’s lobbying in favor of vehicles that aren’t fully battery-powered.
Toyota’s board had recommended a no vote on the proposal, saying the automaker already reports on its climate-related public-relations activities.
Toyota accounting head Masahiro Yamamoto thanked the shareholders for their feedback but said the carmaker would continue to provide non-EV options to customers in regions of the world with insufficient access to charging infrastructure and clean energy.
“In Denmark there is ample renewable energy and it is easy for EVs to spread, but Toyota’s operations are truly global,” Yamamoto said.
Toyota’s annual meeting this year turned into a showdown over the merits of the automaker’s more deliberate EV strategy. Some non-Japanese shareholders including the New York City comptroller’s office called for the ouster of Toyoda and other company-backed board nominees. They cited governance issues and the role they say Toyoda played in keeping the automaker from going all-in on EVs.
Toyoda, who became Toyota’s chairman in April after nearly 14 years as president, has advocated what he calls a multipathway approach, which means offering consumers a variety of vehicles including hybrid-electric and hydrogen-powered cars, in addition to EVs.
That stance has remained largely unchanged under new Chief Executive Koji Sato, though the company has recently taken several steps to hasten its push into fully electric cars. Last week, Toyota showed off a range of technologies it hopes will help it become an EV leader after a relatively slow start.
While the automaker will maintain a diverse lineup of cars in its fleet, “we are of course continuing to prepare EV options,” said Toyota Executive Vice President Yoichi Miyazaki. He pointed to an EV-dedicated group started in May and a lineup of new EVs set to be released in 2026.
In Japan, even a small decline in support for executives at shareholder meetings can be considered an embarrassment. With that in mind, shareholders in recent years have sought to use protest votes to push for change. In several cases, they have achieved results, though it often takes a few rounds.
Write to River Davis at [email protected]
What's Your Reaction?
