The Japanese monolith gets a leadership change with Toshihiro Mibe taking over Takahiro Hachigo as President and CEO of Honda Motor Co. Ltd.
The announcement was made on February 19th at the Board of Directors meeting held in the company’s headquarters. Mibe is slated to become Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with the resolution of the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled to be held in June 2021, coinciding with the retirement of Hachigo.
Toshihiro Mibe joined Honda in 1987 and has had a wealth of experience in engine and powertrain development. He became the President and Representative Director of R&D, pushing forward several crucial reforms within the company and Hachigo.
When it comes to EV production, Honda is currently lagging behind the competition. It produced its first fully all-electric vehicle back in August and has set goals for the future with a clear emphasis on sales of new-energy vehicles such as plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell cars to make up two-thirds of its market share by 2030.
With Hachigo leading Honda since 2015, the company noticed a significant improvement in business environments. He hatched a plan and formulated Honda’s Vision 2030 to become “a company society wants to exist” into the future. One of the Honda 2030 Vision’s main statements was “to serve people worldwide with the joy of expanding their life’s potential.” Hachigo steered his team on a course to strengthen existing resources and progress in future vehicles’ development.
This new direction also led Honda to leave F1 to pursue alternative and more sustainable technologies and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Under his regime, Hachigo also strengthened a partnership with General Motors to develop electric and autonomous vehicles. Through this partnership, Honda plans to launch two new EVs on the US market by 2024.
With Honda heading in a new direction under the renewed leadership of Toshihiro Mibe, things seem to be looking good for the company. Still, only time will tell whether the giant will find its place on the rapidly changing market.
