Toyota president Kenta Kon tells shareholders to keep “ever-better carmaking” at the genba

Toyota’s new president, Kenta Kon, used his first general shareholders meeting to stress that the company’s focus on making “ever-better cars” remains the through-line of its leadership change, even as the automaker continues to talk about becoming a broader mobility company.

Kon, who took office on April 1, spoke to shareholders as Toyota held its general shareholders meeting on June 17, with a record-high 9,040 attendees. In addition to the headquarters venue in Toyota City, Toyota set up a second location in Nagoya for remote viewing.

In Kon’s account, “ever-better carmaking” has been central to Toyota since 2009, when Akio Toyoda became president and urged teams to “Let’s make ever-better cars.” Kon said that over roughly the past 17 years, the company worked to clarify what a “good car” means and how Toyota can build better vehicles, with Toyoda frequently at the genba, a Japanese term for the on-the-ground production and operational sites where work happens.

Kon framed his role as partly shaped by an accounting background, but said he spends time at the genba to listen to employees, understand what they need for their next challenge, and provide “supportive push” so teams can keep improving cars. He also described his personal motivation as a mix of loving cars and working alongside colleagues on the question “What makes an ever-better car?” by thinking deeply and putting ideas into practice.

Toyota’s current leadership and immediate predecessors echoed Kon’s emphasis on fundamentals. The company reported statements from vice chairman Koji Sato and chairman Akio Toyoda that Toyota has become a place where many people work on the front lines to make ever-better cars, and that Toyoda’s long-standing philosophy is to value what cannot be quantified and focus on fundamentals rather than surface-level appearance.

Kon also addressed questions and skepticism that his finance background could narrow his perspective. In the meeting recap, Toyota said Kon responded indirectly to that concern with remarks he made in his first press conference about “loving money,” clarifying that he did not view the company as numbers-only. The company said Kon sees through the financial figures to the ideas and effort of genba teams, and that Toyota is “in safe hands” in part because he understands the relationship between outcomes and the work that produces them.

On mobility, Kon acknowledged the broader strategic discussion but said he did not provide a single settled definition. Toyota reported that one shareholder asked whether Toyota was trying to do too much across projects ranging from flying cars to marine vessels. Kon traced the idea of “mobility company” to a 2018 CES appearance when then-president Toyoda announced Toyota’s intent to transition from being only a carmaker to a mobility company, and contrasted it with 2009’s focus on “ever-better cars.”

Toyota’s president said that, at this point, he still does not have an answer to what “mobility company” precisely means. He added that inside the company, people are not asking what the term means or what to do next, suggesting momentum remains even without a fully specified definition.

Kon also drew on earlier experience in the company’s leadership orbit. Toyota said Kon had spent eight years as Akio Toyoda’s secretary before taking the top role, and that he plans to use lessons from that period. As an example, the meeting recap said Toyoda showed him a notebook with guidance under the heading “What kind of growth should Toyota seek?” including the idea that growth is not just about expansion, but the ability to change in response to evolving customer and societal needs, and the statement “I want Toyota to keep growing.”