TOKYO — At Toyota Motor Corporation’s Annual Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting today in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, shareholders re-elected Akio Toyoda as chairman and backed new CEO Kenta Kon as a board member. The vote reflects continued backing from investors for the automaker’s controversial “multi-pathway” strategy—a direction that climate advocates and environmental groups warn slows the global transition to zero-emission electric vehicles (EVs).
Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Toyota President and CEO Kenta Kon affirmed the company will continue investing in its multi-pathway strategy, stating Toyota intends to utilize various powertrains without “hitting the brakes suddenly.”
In response, Erin Eunseo Choi, climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia, said:
“Geopolitical volatility and soaring oil prices have exposed the vulnerability of our fossil fuel-dependent industries, accelerating EV demand while Toyota slows to adapt. In a reply to Greenpeace, Toyota said it supports the Paris Agreement, yet concrete steps remain invisible. Its executives speak of a ‘multi-pathway strategy,’ but there is no time for corporate complacency. An ambulance carrying a critically ill patient needs a clear destination and speed. The climate crisis is that patient, and the hospital is not getting any closer.”
Toyota remained the world’s largest automotive manufacturer by volume in 2025, with its emissions equivalent to more than half of 50% of Japan’s annual emissions [1]. In the 2026 Lead the Charge ranking, Toyota fell to 16th place out of 18 global automakers, its second consecutive annual decline amid criticism over slow supply-chain decarbonization and weaker human-rights tracking. Battery EVs accounted for just 2% of Toyota’s total sales in 2025, lagging behind global competitors and lacking a clear internal combustion engine phase-out target. Meanwhile, Toyota and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association have also faced scrutiny for lobbying governments across Indonesia, Brazil, and Colombia in favor of biofuels and transitional powertrains that critics argue intentionally delay full EV adoption.
While recent macroeconomic headwinds cost Toyota an estimated US$4.3 billion due to surging material costs and lost sales this year, global EV sales have accelerated sharply. In Southeast Asia—Toyota’s primary market for combustion engines—and in Japan, where March EV sales doubled year-on-year, the market is shifting rapidly.
“Chairman Toyoda recently admitted he feels ‘alone‘ that his conviction in the internal combustion engine is becoming a minority view. But loneliness is not a strategy, and it’s costing Toyota its market dominance. To stay competitive against Chinese rivals—who now lead in pricing and technology and are already displacing Japanese automakers in Southeast Asia—Toyota needs an immediate, long-term electrification target.
As climate-driven extreme weather intensifies, Toyota’s customers and communities will bear the cost of this hesitation. Its recent US$800 million investment in Kentucky, which includes EV production, is a start, but Toyota has the scale to lead this transition globally. We call on Mr. Toyoda to match his company’s resources with genuine ambition,” said Choi.
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Note:
[1] According to Toyota’s 2024 Sustainability Data Book, the company reported total lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of 589.57 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent across Scope 1 (direct operations), Scope 2 (purchased energy), and Scope 3 (value chain/vehicle use). For comparison, Japan’s total national annual emissions for the same period stood at 961.87 million tonnes, according to data compiled by Our World in Data.
Media Contacts:
Yujie Xue, International Communications Officer, Greenpeace East Asia, +852 51273416, [email protected]
Natalia Emi Hirai, Communications Manager, Greenpeace Japan, +81 (0)8065584446, [email protected]
