Toyota founder's son, who led global growth, dies at 97

TOKYO, Feb 14 (AP) - Shoichiro Toyoda, who as a son of the company’s founder oversaw Toyota’s expansion into international markets has died. He was 97.

Toyoda, the company's honorary chairman, died Tuesday of heart failure, Toyota Motor Corp. said in a statement.

He was the father of Akio Toyoda, who recently announced he was stepping down as president and chief executive to become its chairman. Shoichiro was the eldest son of Kiichiro Toyoda, who founded Toyota in 1937.

After becoming Toyota's president in 1982, Shoichiro Toyoda helped direct Toyota’s transformation into a global automaker, especially in the vital U.S. market, where its brand became synonymous with quality, durability, cost performance and engineering finesse.

Both father and son experienced the difficult years of “Japan-bashing,” when powerful Japanese exporters like Toyota were blamed for taking away American blue-collar jobs. ...continue reading

Feb 14 (ANNnewsCH) - トヨタ自動車の名誉会長の豊田章一郎氏が14日午後、心不全で亡くなりました。97歳でした。  ...continue reading