Akio Toyoda will step down as CEO of Toyota and pass the baton to the CEO of Lexus.

Akio Toyoda, grandson of Toyota Motor Corp. founder Kiichiro Toyoda, will step down as president and CEO of Toyota Motor Corp. and become chairman, the company announced Thursday.

He was replaced by Koji Sato, the current Lexus representative director and chief of Gazoo, the official motorsports division of Toyota and Lexus.

Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota's current chairman, will remain as a director after Toyoda is appointed chairman.

This change is effective April 1.

Toyoda has led Toyota since 2009, during which time he has injected much-needed vigor into Toyota's design and brought a sporting flair to its engineering. An avid racer himself, Toyoda has helped Toyota increase its presence in motorsports, especially at the top level of endurance racing.

Toyoda was also instrumental in the launch of Toyota's first mass-produced electric vehicle in the form of the new BZ series, even though, unlike some other automaker leaders, he remained reluctant to fully embrace EVs.

While Toyota's overarching strategy is not expected to change significantly, especially under Sato's reign with Toyoda as chairman, the company could make a stronger push toward EVs. During his tenure at Lexus, Sato pledged to offer EV options in each segment in which the brand competes by 2030. Lexus also plans to make zero-emission vehicles, including fuel cell electric vehicles, account for 100% of its sales in the U.S., Europe, and China by 2030, and 100% of sales in other regions by 2035.

Sato joined Toyota in 1992 and became Lexus' chief engineer in 2016; in 2020 he was named head of Lexus, as was Gazoo.