{"id":68815,"date":"2026-06-17T14:53:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/?p=68815"},"modified":"2026-06-17T17:25:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:25:46","slug":"greenpeace-on-toyota-2026-shareholders-meeting-multi-pathway-strategy-hinders-ev-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/press\/68815\/greenpeace-on-toyota-2026-shareholders-meeting-multi-pathway-strategy-hinders-ev-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenpeace on Toyota 2026 Shareholders\u2019 Meeting: \u201cMulti-Pathway\u201d Strategy Hinders EV Progress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TOKYO<\/strong> \u2014 At Toyota Motor Corporation’s Annual Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting today in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, shareholders re-elected Akio \u200bToyoda as chairman and backed new \u200cCEO Kenta Kon as a board member. The vote reflects continued backing from investors for the automaker\u2019s controversial “multi-pathway” strategy\u2014a direction that climate advocates and environmental groups warn slows the global transition to zero-emission electric vehicles (EVs).<\/p>\n\n

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<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n

In response, Erin Eunseo Choi, climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia, said: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cGeopolitical volatility and soaring oil prices have exposed the vulnerability of our fossil fuel-dependent industries, accelerating EV demand while Toyota slows to adapt. In <\/em>a reply to Greenpeace<\/em><\/a>, 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Toyota remained the world’s largest automotive manufacturer<\/a> 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<\/a>, 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\u2019s total sales<\/a> 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<\/a> across Indonesia, Brazil, and Colombia in favor of biofuels and transitional powertrains that critics argue intentionally delay full EV adoption.<\/p>\n\n

While recent macroeconomic headwinds cost Toyota an estimated US$4.3 billion<\/a> due to surging material costs and lost sales this year, global EV sales have accelerated sharply. In Southeast Asia\u2014Toyota\u2019s primary market for combustion engines\u2014and in Japan, where\u00a0March\u00a0EV sales doubled<\/a> year-on-year, the market is shifting rapidly.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cChairman Toyoda recently admitted he feels ‘<\/em>alone<\/em><\/a>‘ that his conviction in the internal combustion engine is becoming a minority view. But loneliness is not a strategy, and it\u2019s costing Toyota its market dominance. To stay competitive against Chinese rivals\u2014who now lead in pricing and technology and are already displacing Japanese automakers in Southeast Asia<\/a>\u2014Toyota needs an immediate, long-term electrification target.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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<\/a>, which includes EV production,\u00a0is 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,\u201d <\/em>said Choi.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

END <\/p>\n\n

Note:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

[1] According to Toyota\u2019s 2024 Sustainability Data Book<\/em>,<\/a> the company reported total lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of 589.57 million tonnes of CO\u2082 equivalent across Scope 1 (direct operations), Scope 2 (purchased energy), and Scope 3 (value chain\/vehicle use). For comparison, Japan\u2019s total national annual emissions for the same period stood at 961.87 million tonnes, according to data compiled by Our World in Data<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Media Contacts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Yujie Xue, International Communications Officer, Greenpeace East Asia, +852 51273416, yujie.xue@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Natalia Emi Hirai, Communications Manager, Greenpeace Japan, +81 (0)8065584446, nataliaemi.hirai@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TOKYO \u2014 As Toyota Motor Corporation held its Annual Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting today in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, media reported that shareholders re-elected Akio \u200bToyoda as chairman and backed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":8687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/blog\/68815\/auto-draft\/","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[8,6,22,100],"p4-page-type":[14],"class_list":["post-68815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-energy","category-live-sustainably","tag-consumption","tag-climate-impacts","tag-reduce-air-pollution","tag-renewable-energy","p4-page-type-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68815"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68823,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68815\/revisions\/68823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68815"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=68815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}