In April, Automotive News featured a special interview with Chairman Akio Toyoda. He spoke about the Toyota DNA passed down from his great-grandfather Sakichi, the hardships faced during his presidency, and his thoughts on the next generation.
Thoughts on Daisuke
――How might your son, Daisuke, continue the family legacy?
He is my son, but he is a completely different person. He has his own, unique life. That is why I don’t think I should train him with the experiences I have had. I don’t think he has to acquire all the skills that I have acquired.
Actually, there is just one thing I would very much like to see him inherit: That is the fact that I am a master driver. And for a brand manufacturer, a master driver is the person who decides the taste of the brand. There will probably be a time that the brand taste becomes different from today’s. But it will always be necessary to decide what kind of a taste Toyota will have, Lexus will have, GR, etc. So someday, I hope he will inherit this part.
――Who’s the better driver?
For driving, it’s Daisuke. But when it comes to taste or making the seasoning, I think I’m still one step ahead of him. I look forward to seeing what will happen with someone who started young like Daisuke. My driving instructor, Naruse-san, taught me how to drive when I was about 50. He thought that if I also knew how to season cars, it would surely be an advantage for Toyota.
――Will U.S. trade policy changes spur Toyota to make new investments in the U.S.?
At Toyota, we always aim to be the best-in-town company in whatever country we operate. So, with this as our policy, we have established more than 10 plants in the United States, and we have been making efforts for constant and consistent investments. We also aim to create stable employment. This is something that will not change.
――What gave Toyota such confidence to stick with hybrids as the industry rushed to EVs?
When the term carbon neutrality became popular, we said as a company the enemy is carbon. We have to focus on what we can do immediately to reduce carbon dioxide. That is the basis of our decision. It has not changed and will not change.
We have sold some 27 million hybrids. Those hybrids have had the same impact as 9 million BEVs on the road.
But if we were to have made 9 million BEVs in Japan, it would have actually increased the carbon emissions, not reduced them. That is because Japan relies on the thermal power plants for electricity.
We should look at all options and work in all directions. As a company, we have been very consistent in saying what we’re fighting against is carbon dioxide.
――Do you imagine a day when Toyota will have an EV sportscar or race car?
There will always be people inside Toyota passionate about developing electric sports cars. But for me as the master driver, my definition of a sports car is something with the smell of gasoline and a noisy engine. Toyota is a mass-production brand, so we also need to think about affordability, even with BEVs. Once Toyota has the capacity to offer affordable BEVs, then maybe that’s a moment when I as a master driver will be introducing a BEV sports car.
――And as the master driver, would you ever race an EV in competition?
No! It’s not exciting. Because you won’t be able to go around the circuit for more than an hour. The kind of races I enter are mostly endurance races, so with the current BEVs, it’s not going to be a race of the cars. It’s a race of charging time or battery exchange or something. The next master driver will have to take on that challenge. That’s their job.