Toyota has announced that Shoichiro Toyoda, the company’s former president and chairman of the board, has passed away at the age of 97.
Toyoda, the father of current Toyota president Akio Toyoda, died of heart failure yesterday, February 14. He was born on February 27, 1925, to Kiichiro Toyoda, the man responsible for the company’s move to automobile manufacturing.
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After graduating from Nagoya University in 1947 with a degree in engineering, Toyoda joined the family business in 1952. He eventually rose through Toyota’s ranks, becoming managing director in 1961, senior managing director in 1967, and executive vice president in 1972. He later became president of Toyota’s sales organization in 1981. A year later, he was anointed president of the newly integrated Toyota Motor Corporation. From 1992 to 1999, he served as chairman of the board. He came honorary chairman in 2009, a title he held until his death.
According to Reuters, Toyoda’s tenure at Toyota included presiding over the company’s expansion into US manufacturing, as well as the launch of Lexus and the Prius.
