Former Toyota President Hiroshi Okuda Dies Aged 93
Last update: August 12, 2026
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He was a karate black belt who once trekked through a jungle to negotiate with rebels, and he took a famously conservative car company and made it fearless. The man behind the Prius is gone.
In quite sad news from the world of motoring, former Toyota boss Hiroshi Okuda has died aged 93.
Toyota confirmed on Wednesday, August 12 2026, that Okuda passed away, though they haven’t released further details.
If you drive a Toyota today, you’ve probably felt his influence. Okuda took over in 1995 when things were looking a bit shaky for the company. He was actually the first person from outside the founding family to lead Toyota in decades, so his appointment was a big deal.
And he didn’t waste time playing it safe. He pushed for the cars everyone thought were too risky — the RAV4 and, of course, the Prius. Remember, back in the 90s, the idea of a mass-market electric car was pure fantasy. Okuda championed the world’s first mass-produced petrol-electric hybrid, and look where we are now. That hybrid market, still dominated by the Japanese giants, is booming again as drivers look for an alternative to pricey pure EVs and costly fuel.
He was also the architect of Toyota’s global expansion. Under his leadership, Toyota started opening factories all over the world, a bold move that helped it eventually overtake General Motors to become the world’s biggest carmaker by sales.
He was never your typical boardroom boss either. Outspoken, a black belt in karate, and former head of Japan’s biggest business lobby, Keidanren, as well as a long-time government adviser. Bloomberg once reported that back in the early 70s, while running Toyota’s operations in the Philippines, he actually crossed a jungle to meet with leftist guerrillas.
He said it best himself back in 1998 to the New York Times: “Everyone is different. But what I can say about Toyota is that before I became president, the company was considered to be very conservative, so I have tried to make us more aggressive.”
He certainly did that. He will be missed.
Credit: cbinews.tv
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