Akio Toyoda
Born 1956
Chairman of Toyota · President of Toyota (2009–2023) · Racing driver ("Morizo")
Japanese executive who was president of Toyota from 2009 to 2023 and then chairman, and who races and tests cars under the name Morizo.
- Born
- 3 May 1956Nagoya, Japan
- Nationality
- Japanese
Biography
Akio Toyoda was born in Nagoya on 3 May 1956. He studied law at Keio University and earned a master's degree at Babson College in Massachusetts, then joined the family business in 1984. He was elected to Toyota's board in 2000 and promoted to executive vice president in 2005.
Toyoda was confirmed as president on 23 June 2009. On 24 February 2010, with recalls grown to 8.5 million vehicles, he testified before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee of the US House of Representatives. Under the name 'Morizo' he also races. At the Nürburgring 24 Hours he drove a Lexus LFA in 2009 and won his class in one in 2014; in 2019 he finished third in class in a GR Supra GT4.
Autocar named him its Man of the Year in 2012. In 2016 Toyota approved the project that produced the GR Yaris, with Morizo among its test drivers. In 2023 the company reported a record profit of 4.9 trillion yen. On 1 April that year he handed the chief executive role to Koji Sato and became chairman of the board.
Timeline
- 1984Joins the family company[1]
- 2000Joins Toyota’s board[1]
- 2005Executive vice president[1]
- 2009Confirmed as Toyota president[1]
- 2010Testifies before the US House of Representatives[1]
- 2014Class win at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in a Lexus LFA[1]
- 2016GR Yaris project approved[1]
- 2023Becomes chairman; Koji Sato takes over as CEO[1]
Cars
Lexus LFA
Toyota SupraAkio Toyoda in 1CARS stories
Related people
Sources
- Akio Toyoda — Wikipedia · accessed 20 October 2026