Toyota Motor Corporation President and CEO Akio Toyoda speaks during a Toyota press event for CES 2020 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on January 6, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs January 7-10 and features about 4,500 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 170,000 attendees. David Becker/Getty Images
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda has issued a stark warning that he may not be reelected as a director if the decline in shareholder support continues.
In an interview shared by Reuters, Toyoda revealed that shareholder backing for him fell to 72% at the company's recent annual general meeting, a drop from 85% in 2023. This marked the lowest support rating ever for a director in Toyota's history.
Toyoda, the 68-year-old grandson of the company's founder, acknowledged that if this trend persists, he might lose his board position next year.
His support among foreign institutional investors was particularly low, standing at just 34%. This decline followed recommendations from proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, who raised concerns about Toyota's recent scandal.
According to VCPost, the test certification scandal at Toyota involved the company admitting to multiple violations in vehicle inspections, including falsifying emissions and fuel economy data. As the Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyodahas been at the forefront of addressing these issues and has publicly apologized for the scandals and acknowledged the impact they had on the company's reputation and investor trust.
The support from domestic institutional investors also saw a notable drop, decreasing to around 55% compared to 70% or more in the previous year. This indicated that a major portion of these investors were dissatisfied with Toyoda's actions over the past year.
The contrast was stark when compared to the nearly 99% approval rating he received from retail investors.
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