Akio Toyoda, the longtime leader of Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM), is said to be facing harsh scrutiny and criticism from shareholders amid the company's reluctance to commit to large-scale development and manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs), according to an early Monday publication by the Wall Street Journal.
The WSJ reports that several shareholders, "including the New York City comptroller’s office, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and a handful of European asset managers say they have voted or plan to vote to oust several Toyota directors including Toyoda from their board seats" at the company's upcoming annual meeting on Wednesday, as "a protest against Toyoda’s refusal to commit to making the car maker’s lineup all electric."
"Toyota is losing out on profits from EVs in regions of the world such as the U.S. and Europe where sales have rapidly picked up," said Anders Schelde, chief investment officer of AkademikerPension of Denmark, while Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller noted, "Toyota is failing to lean, like its peers, into a timely transition to an electric fleet."
Still, according to the report, "all sides agree the chance that Toyoda will be ousted from the board at the meeting is minuscule," given the chairman's widely-recognized role in "building the world’s top-selling automaker and Japan’s most valuable company by market capitalization," and immense popularity among investors - he earned 96% renomination approval vote at TM's shareholder meeting one year ago.
Akio Toyoda, the company's current chairman and former president of 14+ years, is seen as "a rare voice of caution within the auto industry when it comes to EVs." He cites "inadequate charging infrastructure, shortages of battery materials and the reliance of many nations on carbon-emitting fossil fuels for electricity," as key reasons why "the world isn’t ready to go all electric."
He also argues that hybrid cars "can serve as a bridge between traditional cars and EVs," and notes that "Toyota has sold more hybrid gas-electric vehicles than any other automaker."
Shares of TM closed at $148.64 on Friday, and are up around 8% YTD.