[agzand]

Last man standing falls:

Toyota just announced that CEO Toyoda, 66, is stepping down. He will be replaced from April 1 by Koji Sato, 53, Toyota's chief branding and head of the premium brand Lexus.

Toyota said it "intends to implement changes to its executive structure effective April 1, 2023, and changes to its Board of Directors effective the date of its 119th Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting."

Toyota makes a huge announcement

It is interesting, after Tesla price cuts its stock has gone up by 30%, while other automakers have been under pressure. It is clear that their EVs are not competitive with new Tesla cost structure reality.

Meanwhile VW is trying and failing to do a software update on 20,000 cars. Not an over the air update, in a dealership. Something that has been done with many cars in the past.

 

[tacomambo]

toyota is still stuck on the old boomer mentality.. they're just milking the ice market until california forces them to go full ev.. theyre not going to switch to ev anymore soon as more than half the world doesn't have the infrastructure to support it.. as for theit ev attempt, they're garbage.. bz4x platform is truely pathetic.

 

[PANZERidIV]

@tacomambo Actually a lot of us who might be confused as the derogatory term “Boomers” actually have spent our lives driving fun to drive cars and riding motorcycles and racing. We were not all the ones who always buy slow Toyotas and Hondas and drive like a little old lady or clueless maniacs, much more of which you see today. Show some respect for the people that made America’s car culture or look completely clueless on the vehicle forums.

Sorry some people are too poor to drive or own sporty vehicles but believe you me we have kindly taken those folks on some rides…

 

[tacomambo]

@tacomambo Actually a lot of us who might be confused as the derogatory term “Boomers” actually have spent our lives driving fun to drive cars and riding motorcycles and racing. We were not all the ones who always buy slow Toyotas and Hondas and drive like a little old lady or clueless maniacs, much more of which you see today. Show some respect for the people that made America’s car culture or look completely clueless on the vehicle forums.

Sorry some people are too poor to drive or own sporty vehicles but believe you me we have kindly taken those folks on some rides…

would you prefer a picture to prove the situation?

 

[PANZERidIV]

I would prefer most you not use derogatory names for large segments of Americans.

 

[tacomambo]

I would prefer most you not use derogatory names for large segments of Americans.

i will once you post a picture to prove your point

 

[NeverhadanEVbefore]

I would prefer most you not use derogatory names for large segments of Americans.

Since when is "Boomer" a categorically derogatory term? I mean sure, in certain context, yes. As is "Karen", but again, in other context it's just a name, right?

 

[PANZERidIV]

Since when is "Boomer" a categorically derogatory term? I mean sure, in certain context, yes. As is "Karen", but again, in other context it's just a name, right?

What Gen are you? I am sure someone can ridicule you for it like that name has been used for. I am not even from the PC Generation either but I know wrong when I see it.

 

[NeverhadanEVbefore]

What Gen are you? I am sure someone can ridicule you for it like that name has been used for. I am not even from the PC Generation either but I know wrong when I see it.

Well that's one way of not-answering.

 

[Mark Magiera]

As 100% GenX, I don't care... It isn't derogatory. Boomer's invented Participation Awards for their Millennial children. Get upset over that now.

However, ON TOPIC: I for one & glad Toyoda is stepping down. And I don't care, that you don't care... Toyoda's POV has been EV negative (historically) and personally, I wish him well in his retirement. I did enjoy my '94 $x2 Toyota pickup & put 375K miles on that lil red extra cab. And I did enjoy my 05' Sequoia Limited (before I knew better how much carbon I created over 275K miles, for which I will never amend or perform enough penance in my lifetime).

 

[NeverhadanEVbefore]

-- and personally, I wish him well in his retirement.

Chairman of the Board isn't really "retired".

 

[tacomambo]

As 100% GenX, I don't care... It isn't derogatory. Boomer's invented Participation Awards for their Millennial children. Get upset over that now.

However, ON TOPIC: I for one & glad Toyoda is stepping down. And I don't care, that you don't care... Toyoda's POV has been EV negative (historically) and personally, I wish him well in his retirement. I did enjoy my '94 $x2 Toyota pickup & put 375K miles on that lil red extra cab. And I did enjoy my 05' Sequoia Limited (before I knew better how much carbon I created over 275K miles, for which I will never amend or perform enough penance in my lifetime).

just ignore that guy. he's a known this board. gets triggered at everything.. dude even gets triggered when people are helping out others by naming which dealership has id4 sitting on the lot

 

[NeverhadanEVbefore]

just ignore that guy. he's a known troll on this board. gets triggered at everything.. dude even gets triggered when people are helping out others by naming which dealership has id4 sitting on the lot

You mean he's a...

...boomer?

😎

 

[TidingSStables]

It’s too late for Toyota. Korean and Chinese Automakers are the next wave, even Vietnam joining in. Who buys Sony TVs anymore when LG, TCL and Samsung are selling off the shelf. I feel sorry for the hydrogen car buyers. Maybe they can mod with a battery somewhere and convert it to a full EV?

 

[JBG2]

toyota is still stuck on the old boomer mentality.. they're just milking the ice market until california forces them to go full ev.. theyre not going to switch to ev anymore soon as more than half the world doesn't have the infrastructure to support it.. as for theit ev attempt, they're garbage.. bz4x platform is truely pathetic.

Whenever someone uses "Boomer" as a epithet or "Owns the Libs" I just shrug and write them off as a #### idiot not worthy of my attention. It is not a persuasive rhetorical device, youngster. BTW, I love my ancient 4Runner, approaching a quarter million miles on the odometer now. It has taken us to some incredible places.

 

[Fahrer]

Toyota and VW are the most successful auto makers to date. Companies like Tesla will never reach that level of success as long as they only make EVs. And, "disrupters" are just that. They disrupt and are sometimes successful but most often, they die. We will see this with some newer "disrupting" EV makers.

 

[Nycturne]

My experience with Japanese companies is that their corporate culture is vastly different than what we expect in the US. There’s a bigger emphasis on flat out refusing to admit mistakes in public, respecting seniority, and saving face. Breaking ranks and leaking internal conflicts to the public is seen as a huge betrayal of trust as well. I’ve seen a statement from Japanese engineers flat out say an issue was “as designed” and quietly fix it in a software update less than a month later. This makes it hard to tell when/how a Japanese company will pivot one way or another.

So a couple things I take away from announcement here:

• The CEO stepping down could very well have been part of holding the CEO to account for failures under his watch, and letting him step down and leave the company quietly later is allowing him to save face in this situation. But we’ll never really know for sure.
• What this means for EVs is also up in the air. Without knowing why the CEO is leaving, it’s hard to know what the new CEO’s priorities are.

I do expect Toyota to pivot back into EVs with a more serious effort. The question is when. Because until they have the results of that effort ready to go into manufacturing, I fully expect they will continue to push the idea that their current lineup is fine, future-looking, and what people want.

This behavior of Japanese companies is actually why I bailed on Subaru for the ID.4. Precisely because I’m expecting a big internal mess hidden behind a well-rehearsed public story, and it’s really hard to say “I’m going to wait for the upcoming thing” or make long term plans when companies behave this way.

 

[Atlant]

It’s too late for Toyota. Korean and Chinese Automakers are the next wave, even Vietnam joining in. Who buys Sony TVs anymore when LG, TCL and Samsung are selling off the shelf. I feel sorry for the hydrogen car buyers. Maybe they can mod with a battery somewhere and convert it to a full EV?

It's probably not a good idea to count out the world's second-biggest automaker (who's only just a smidgen behind VW, the world's biggest).

VW: $284.34 billion revenue
Toyota: $270.58 billion
Stellantis: $181.58 billion

 

[NeverhadanEVbefore]

So a couple things I take away from announcement here:

--

Random facts: the Toyota EV of which name I refuse to learn to spell has gotten absolutely killed in reviews. Charging is a complete joke in sub-freezing temperatures despite advertised decent speeds. It gets hit bad by cold weather. AC charging limited and not standard 11kW. DCFC limited to two instances per 24 hours, after which DC charging limited to 50kW (which the car can maybe get to in the summer). The battery has no heating at all, meaning pre-heating is not possible even in the future. Systems monitoring the driver constantly ping even when turned off. Usable battery over 10kW less than advertised capacity; this was not made known when car was marketed. Using AC eats +30 miles of range the second you turn it on regardless of use. The list goes on. I mean it's so bad that local Toyota had to actually put out an FAQ to explain all this shit.

The CEO said not two weeks ago that EV:s are not the future, but merely a trend that will pass.

So while all competition is turning towards EVs, Toyota releases an EV that is pretty much worse than all the competition at the same pricepoint, followed by the CEO saying EVs ain't a thing.

The above are factually true. Whether they are connected to the CEO leaving his position - something no analyst was expecting, according to Bloomberg - is anyone's guess. I would also note that while someone might argue Toyoda's age - 66, if I recall - might be a reason, his successor is considered too young for such a position.. At 53.

 

[tacomambo]

just wait till 2035 and toyota is bottom barrel feeder ev maker.. they'll just be a third world auto maker by then.