Toyota Motor Europe announced that Matt Harrison will become its new President and CEO, replacing Dr. Johan van Zyl, who will retire from this post as of April 1.
Van Zyl, who has been CEO of Toyota Motor Europe since April 2015, will retain his position as Chairman of Toyota South Africa Motors after that date.
Under van Zyl, Toyota Motor Europe expanded its hybrid model lineup, enhanced localization by bringing in more production and more models in markets like Russia, Poland, Turkey and France, and made additional investments in the TNGA platform in the UK and other factories.
Read More: Toyota Yaris Named 2021 European Car Of The Year
“What I am most satisfied about is the very strong team we have here in Europe,” said Dr. Johan van Zyl. “With such great people across the Toyota European organization, with such talent and passion, there won’t be any disruption in the transformation we have embarked upon, and I have no doubt Toyota will do very well under Matt’s leadership.”
Matt Harrison, who is the current Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Europe, has held several executive posts in Europe, including Director of Lexus Europe from 2008, Managing Director of Toyota Great Britain from 2013, and Vice President for Sales and Marketing from 2015.
Toyota Europe’s sales passed the one-million mark under Harrison in 2019 for the first time in 10 years, and topped a 6 percent market share in 2020, improving at the same time sales revenue and mix to enhance the carmaker’s profit and reduce CAFE emissions.
Harrison will now lead Toyota’s on-going transformation in Europe “from an automotive to a mobility company”, with a focus on achieving 1.4 million sales by 2024. This includes launching 10 battery-electric vehicles, at least five new plug-in hybrids, further increasing the lineup of hybrid models and expanding into mobility services with their KINTO brand.
