Automotive. Drivers know

TOKYO, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Koji Sato, who was named on Thursday as the future CEO of Japan’s top automaker Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), is an engineer with a background in diesel engines who will be tasked with navigating the company’s shift to clean energy.

Currently the CEO of Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus, Sato will succeed Akio Toyoda as the CEO of Toyota on April 1.

Under Toyoda, the automaker has followed a go-slow approach to electric vehicles, arguing that the hybrid technology it pioneered with the Prius will remain important along with investments in hydrogen.

Sato studied diesel engine combustion at university and joined Toyota in hopes of “contributing to society by creating the future of diesel engines”, according to an interview on the website of Gazoo, Toyota’s motorsport brand.

Although the 53-year-old oversaw the creation of Lexus’s first fully electric model, he has also spoken of keeping other options for powering vehicles open.

He spoke of the potential of hydrogen last year in Thailand, where Toyoda himself drove a hydrogen-powered Toyota race car at an endurance race, according to the daily Yomiuri.

“It won’t be an immediate substitution for electric vehicles, but it’s good for people to know that there are other options available, when the increase of EVs eventually plateaus,” Sato said of hydrogen-powered vehicles in the report.

Sato started his career at Toyota in 1992, before rising through the ranks to become chief engineer of Lexus International in 2016, based on his profile on the Toyota website.

“The industry itself is facing a once-in-a-century disruption, with many unknowns to navigate,” said John Shook, a former Toyota manager who now consults on the lean management techniques pioneered by the company. “I can imagine that Akio thought now is the time to transition so his successor can steer