What was President Sato's message at Toyota's first entrance ceremony under its new leadership team? And what special surprise did the carmaker have in store?
On April 3, Toyota Motor Corporation welcomed its new employees in a ceremony at the company’s headquarters in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture.
Attended by 1,440 incoming employees, it was the first such event under the new management team led by President Koji Sato, following Akio Toyoda’s move to chairman.
What words did President Sato share on this day, which marked his team’s first step on the journey of Inheritance and Evolution? The company’s leadership even prepared a special surprise.
Cherished cars on display
President Sato
Congratulations to our new employees. Welcome to carmaker Toyota!
Today marks a new beginning for all of us at Toyota. With former President Akio Toyoda becoming chairman, I am taking on the role of leading our new management team.
This entrance ceremony is my first job as president, and with Chairman Toyoda sitting right before me, I am a little nervous. (Laughs)
It gives me great pleasure to celebrate this important milestone with you all.
When you came in today, you will have seen many cars out on display. Those are the actual cherished rides of Chairman Toyoda, Oyaji (Mitsuru) Kawai, (General Administration & Human Resources Group) Chief Officer (Takanori) Azuma, and our operating officers.
On this special day, we wanted cars to play a starring role in the memories we make. We want you to feel that you, too, are now carmakers.
With this in mind, we decided to welcome you with the cars we cherish.
Toyota, Lexus, GR—they span the full range from sports cars to compact, SUVs, and even trucks. Just by looking at the cars we drive, you can see that Toyota is a full-lineup company.
Together with the cars, we each shared what they mean to us, along with our messages for all of you. Later on, please take the time to look through them and take pictures to remember the day.
And don’t forget to tell us whose car was the coolest!
The cars driven by Toyota’s management team will be introduced later in the article, along with the results of our Toyota Times on-site poll to find out which was deemed the coolest of the day. Read on to find out.