Akio Toyoda was reelected to Toyota Motor Corp.’s board of directors with the lowest shareholder vote since at least 2010 after some foreign investors opposed the chairman keeping his seat.
(Bloomberg) — Akio Toyoda was reelected to Toyota Motor Corp.’s board of directors with the lowest shareholder vote since at least 2010 after some foreign investors opposed the chairman keeping his seat.
Toyoda garnered 84.57% of the vote among shareholders at Wednesday’s annual meeting, the world’s largest automaker said in a filing Thursday. That compares with 96% of the vote a year ago.
Although the reduced support doesn’t change Toyoda’s position, the dip may be seen as sign of frustration among a small minority after rivals have outpaced Toyota in the transition to battery-electric vehicles. Toyoda, who stepped down as chief executive officer in April and became chairman, has called for a “multi-pathway” approach to carbon neutrality and vouched for continuing to sell gas-electric hybrid cars while investing in EVs, hydrogen and alternate fuels.
Even so, the results of the annual shareholders’ meeting and an aggressive messaging campaign around the Japanese carmaker’s EV strategy have helped fuel a 15% rally in its shares over the past six days, the biggest jump since August 2020.
In a well-timed move just before the annual meeting, Toyota released details from a day of technology briefings held last week at its research facility near Mount Fuji. Analysts and journalists were given a day of test drives and presentations aimed at bolstering confidence in the company’s ability to sell 1.5 million battery EVs annually by 2026, and 3.5 million by 2030.
Read More: Toyota Soars on Optimism Over EV Plans, Shareholders’ Meeting
Before Wednesday’s shareholders’ meeting, three European asset managers, which collectively hold $400 million in Toyota shares, were demanding transparency on lobbying over climate policies that appear to favor EVs, or that seek to ban cars that burn fossil fuels. But shareholders rejected the proposal at the meeting held at Toyota’s headquarters near Nagoya.
Toyota’s board opposed the proposal, saying the company is already releasing data and information on its activities pertaining to climate change.
It was also the first shareholder gathering for Koji Sato, who succeeded Toyoda as CEO in April. Sato has said there is no change to his predecessor’s strategy, though the new president has also championed what he calls an “EV-first” approach.
–With assistance from Nicholas Takahashi.
(Updated with chart after the second paragraph.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.