Toyoda, member of founding family, takes helm of Toyota+

NAGOYA, June 23 Kyodo -
Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Corp. executive vice president and a member of the
company's founding family, assumed the presidency of the world's largest
automaker on Tuesday, facing the daunting task of steering the company out of
deep losses and a severe global auto slump.

Toyoda replaced Katsuaki Watanabe following approval at a general shareholders
meeting. The appointment was formalized at a board meeting later in the day.
The new management immediately announced organizational changes, assigning
board members to specific regions in a move that could signal Toyota's shift
away from a U.S.-dependent business strategy.
Four of Toyota's five executive vice presidents will take charge of regions
including Europe, North America, Japan and emerging countries with the aim of
meeting local needs in the development and sale of cars, officials said.
Toyota also appointed managing officers with responsibility for separate
regions in Japan in a bid to enhance the efficiency of the company's multiple
dealerships.
The automaker has turned to Toyoda, the 53-year-old grandson of company founder
Kiichiro Toyoda and the eldest son of Toyota Motor Honorary Chairman Shoichiro
Toyoda, as it seeks to revive sliding sales in all of its key markets.
Toyota fell into the red in the year ended March 31 with a group net loss of
436.9 billion yen, a turnaround from a record-high profit of 1.72 trillion yen
in the previous year.
The company is anticipating a staggering operating loss of 850 billion yen for
the current business year after recording its first loss in 71 years in fiscal
2008.
Toyota decided to slash its annual dividend payment to 100 yen per share, down
40 yen from the year before and the first dividend cut since the company became
a listed company in 1949, with the exception of fiscal 1994.
Watanabe apologized to investors for the dismal business results at the annual
meeting attended by a record 3,364 shareholders at Toyota's head office in the
city of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture.
The automaker also decided not to pay bonuses to board members due to the sharp
deterioration in business performance.
==Kyodo