The iconic former boss of Japanese car giant Toyota died on Tuesday at the age of 97 from heart failure.
Born in 1925, this eldest son of Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of Toyota, had joined the company in 1952, before gradually climbing the hierarchy and notably improving the quality control of production.
In 1982, the arrival at the controls of this trained engineer also marked the birth of the current group, with the merger of its commercial and production activities, which had been divided since the 1950s.
The success of the integration of these two opposing branches is largely the work of Shoichiro Toyoda, who led the group for ten years before becoming chairman of the board of directors (1992-1999) and then honorary chairman until his death.
In 1989, Shoichiro Toyoda brought his group into the high-end automotive segment with a new brand, Lexus, mainly present in North America and China.
He also approved the development of the Toyota Prius, the first mass-produced hybrid (petrol-electric) car, which went on sale in 1997.
With MAP