Hiroshi Okuda, Toyota Executive Who Revived Carmaker, Dies at 93
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 14
Hiroshi Okuda, Toyota Executive Who Revived Carmaker, Dies at 93
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 14
Summary
Aug. 8 marked the death of Hiroshi Okuda, the former Toyota president credited with pulling the automaker out of its 1990s slump; Toyota confirmed he was 93.
In 1995, Okuda became Toyota’s first leader from outside the Toyoda family in nearly 30 years, taking over as the company’s share of Japan’s car market fell below 40%.
Overseas production expansion, tighter decision-making in Japan and support for the Prius — the first mass-produced hybrid — defined the turnaround he led.
His rise capped a career that began in Toyota’s accounting department in 1955 and grew through foreign postings that shaped his operational and financial approach.