Former Toyota chairman Hiroshi Okuda dies at 93

Investing.com -- Hiroshi Okuda, who led Toyota Motor Corp. as president and chairman during a period of global expansion in the late 1990s and early 2000s, died Tuesday, according to Japan's Kyodo News. He was 93.

Okuda joined Toyota as the company was building its manufacturing presence in post-World War II Japan and spent his entire career at the automaker. He became president in 1995, the first person from outside the founding Toyoda family to hold the position in nearly 30 years.

Born near Nagoya on December 29, 1932, Okuda started in Toyota's accounting division and later managed the company's Asia and Oceania operations.

When Okuda assumed leadership, Toyota faced declining profits and shrinking domestic market share. He replaced Tatsuro Toyoda, son of founder Kiichiro Toyoda, ending a period of family control that had lasted nearly three decades. Okuda focused on international growth and worked to update the company's image in Japan.

Under his leadership, Toyota built a factory in France and expanded production in the United States. The company also closed a Japanese plant for the first time in its history.

Okuda championed the development of the Prius hybrid vehicle, which launched in Japan in 1997. The model later gained a dedicated customer base and helped establish Toyota's position in electric vehicle technology.

In 1999, Okuda became chairman while Fujio Cho took over as president. He remained chairman until 2006, when he became a senior adviser and board member. Okuda left the board in 2009 during a management reorganization but continued to influence Toyota's leadership from outside the company.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Boeing wins $55M U.S. military order for actuator systems
• BNP Paribas Exane Starts JSW Energy Ltd (JSW:IN) at Neutral
• BNP Paribas Exane Starts CESC Ltd (CESC:IN) at Outperform