Nephew of the Founder of Toyota Takes Business Leadership in a Difficult Moment for the Company

Akio Toyoda, grandson founder of Toyota, has become the new president of the Japanese company, in full economic crisis and in a moment in which it tries to resist the harsh conditions of the auto market, says BBC.

In May, Toyota reported the largest loss of its history and warned that the situation will not improve any in 2009. In the financial year ended in March 31, the company posted losses of 437 billion yen (4.6 billion U.S. dollars).

Toyoda will lead a new management team that includes four new executive Vice. Toyota has reduced production, including factories in the UK in the context prabusiirii sales.

"We expect to continue to face problems in the business environment in which operate, in the short term, despite some signs of returning in some areas," said former company president, Katsuaki Watanabe.

Analysts say that Watanabe, who led the company since 2005, paid the price for the recent problems of auto manufacturers. However, it will remain in the governing board of the company as vice president.

Toyota was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937. This particular company chose, instead to the award of, or because Toyota is considered luckier, when written in Japanese.

"We can say that if Toyota fails, then Japan's economy will crash for sure," said analyst Masaaki Sato, who has written several books about the auto manufacturer.

Japan's economy was compressed to 14.2% in the first three months of 2009, in terms annually to preliminary reports indicating a decrease of gross domestic product (GDP) by 15.2%, in the context in which investments were reduced with a tempered pace.

Dropping GDP could be reaching a minimum threshold of the economy, which would increase this quarter thanks to demand from the market in China, which help to stabilize exports.

However, the activity is interrupted factories and profits decline, leading to reduced investment and number of employees. Thus, the market is worried that the economy will not grow for a long period.

Recession which included market in Japan has given signs that would regulate after Japanese manufacturers have benefited from demand from China, where the government spends 586 billion U.S. dollars on roads, hospitals and houses.

Japan's economy was affected by a collapse of exports since September 2008, although there are signs that the most difficult period of recession ended.

At the end of March, the World Bank has estimated that Japan's GDP would decline by 5.3% this year, while in 2010 GDP will grow by 1.5%.

Category: