Former Toyota Chief Hiroshi Okuda Dies at 93, Remembered as Prius Pioneer

Former Toyota president Hiroshi Okuda, who helped transform the Japanese carmaker into a global automotive powerhouse and championed the development of the Prius hybrid, has died at the age of 93.

Toyota confirmed Okuda’s death to AFP on Wednesday but did not disclose further details about the circumstances.

Okuda took charge of Toyota in 1995, becoming the first person outside the founding Toyoda family to lead the company in decades. He arrived at a time when the automaker was struggling and pushed for a more aggressive approach to product development and global expansion.

One of his most significant legacies was his support for the Prius, which became the world’s first mass-produced petrol-electric hybrid. At the time, the idea of electric-powered vehicles becoming a major part of the global car market was widely viewed as unrealistic.

Okuda also backed products such as the RAV4 and oversaw Toyota’s expansion of manufacturing operations overseas. The company’s international growth helped put it on course to overtake General Motors as the world’s largest automaker by vehicle sales.

Hybrid vehicles have remained particularly important in the automotive market, with Japanese manufacturers continuing to dominate the segment. Demand has also grown among motorists looking for alternatives to increasingly expensive pure electric vehicles and high fuel costs.

Beyond Toyota, Okuda was an influential figure in Japanese business and public policy. He served as chairman of Keidanren, the country’s largest business lobby, and spent years advising government officials on economic and industrial matters.

Known for his outspoken personality and black belt in karate, Okuda also had an adventurous side. Bloomberg reported that while running Toyota’s operations in the Philippines in the early 1970s, he once crossed a jungle to meet leftist guerrillas.

Reflecting on his leadership philosophy in a 1998 interview with The New York Times, Okuda said Toyota had been viewed as too conservative before his presidency and that he had sought to make the company more aggressive. His tenure ultimately helped reshape Toyota’s products, global footprint and position in the automotive industry.