Osamu Suzuki, chairman of Suzuki Motor Corp, has announced that he will step down from his role in June. He is leaving the company in the hands of his son, Toshihiro Suzuki, who is already the automaker’s president and CEO.
The chairman said that he is stepping aside to let a new leader take on the challenge of shifting to electric vehicles and fighting off the threat from upstarts like Apple and Tesla, per Reuters. He said, though, that he will continue to work with the company in an advisory role.
“I will neither run away nor hide,” said Suzuki, adding that he will “remain active” in the company that was founded by his wife’s grandfather. That’s hardly surprising, though, since the 91-year-old has previously stated that he plans to be a “lifelong non-retiree.”
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The elder Suzuki has been with the company since 1958 and became president in 1978. In his time as president, he made the important decision to enter the Indian market. This turned out to be a successful move, as Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (of which Suzuki is a majority stakeholder) makes every second car in the country.
But Suzuki stepped down from his role as CEO in 2016 to take responsibility for a mileage scandal that rocked the company. He remained the company’s chairman, though.
Japan’s fourth-biggest automaker, Suzuki recently announced that it will invest 1 trillion yen (nearly $10 million USD) mostly on electric technology over the next five years.
“Carbon neutral is the focus now,” Toshihiro Suzuki noted. “Suzuki must not fall behind this global trend.”
The announcements come less than a week after Honda appointed a new CEO, Toshihiro Mibe, who told the media that he would consider alliances and make bold decisions.
