Toyota shows its determination to develop electric vehicles with new personnel changes

According to foreign media reports recently, Toyota Motor Corporation appointed its chairman Akio Toyoda as the head of the newly formed electric vehicle department on Wednesday. This move also clearly shows Toyota's determination to develop electric vehicle technology.

Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota Group founder Kiichiro Toyoda, has been in charge of Toyota Motor Corporation since 2009. In the future, he will be in charge of Toyota's electric vehicle development department together with Toyota's executive vice chairmen Mitsuhisa Kato and Shigeki Terashi.

Toyota spokeswoman Kayo Doi explained: "By appointing the group chairman and vice chairman to head the division, we hope to accelerate the development of electric vehicles. With the chairman directly in charge of the group's operations, decisions can be made more quickly."

The newly formed department has a brand new office space, which will allow Toyota to develop development strategies that are more in line with global emission standards.

Toyota also transferred Koji Toyoshima, the chief engineer of the Prius hybrid, to the electric vehicle division. Toyoshima will join a four-member team on electric vehicle strategy, with the other three members coming from Toyota Group suppliers: Denso Corporation, Aisin Seiki, and Toyota Industries.

It is reported that Toyota's decision was made against the backdrop of the United States, China and some European countries currently advocating major automobile manufacturers to produce more pure electric vehicles.

Competitors such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Tesla are also targeting the pure electric vehicle market, which is also considered the most feasible option to meet zero-emission standards.

However, Toyota recently said it prefers to produce electric vehicles with shorter driving ranges suitable for commuting, which take longer to charge. In addition, Toyota has also been investing heavily in the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which Toyota believes are truly green and environmentally friendly vehicles.

In early November, Toyota announced that it will develop electric vehicles with a 15% longer range and longer battery life in the next few years.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.