Akio Toyoda

After the 2009 to 2010 recall crisis, Toyoda told the US Congress that Toyota had grown too fast, and slowed expansion to rebuild quality. Later he resisted investor and campaigner pressure to go all-in on battery electric cars, keeping hybrids and hydrogen alongside them; strong hybrid demand in the mid-2020s brought record profits and vindicated much of that call. A certification-testing scandal at group companies in 2024 shows the quality culture still has gaps. He is chairman.