Toyota’s Akio Toyoda named 2021 World Car Person of The Year

Ninety-three distinguished international journalists on the World Car Awards jury panel – including FOCUS editorial director Charleen Clarke – have voted Akio Toyoda, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, as the 2021 World Car Person of the Year.

In 2020, under his leadership, Toyota remained profitable, despite Covid-19, thus protecting jobs worldwide. He has maintained Toyota’s pace of development towards the connected, autonomous, shared and electric era, and he has initiated construction of the Woven City, a real-life prototype city of the future – all while actively participating in motorsports as a driver.

Toyoda accepted the award on behalf of all 360 000 Toyota team members around the world. “Thank you for this tremendous honour! If you don’t mind, however, I would like to change this award from car ‘person’ of the year to car ‘people’ of the year… because it’s the collective effort of all our global employees, retailers and suppliers that has truly made Toyota what it is today! And I for one, couldn’t be a luckier… or a more grateful CEO.

“This has been a difficult period in the history of the world, but it has also reminded us that people are what matters most… and if we, at Toyota, can contribute some measure of happiness to their lives, it will be my never-ending goal to do just that. Thank you again for this award… and to my fellow car lovers, see you on the track!” he concluded.