Frenchman Didier Leroy appointed to head Toyota in Europe

The Japanese car giant Toyota appointed Thursday the Frenchman Didier Leroy as the chief of the European branch of its operations. It will be the first time that somebody of non-Japanese origin takes the post.

Reuters

Until now, Leroy served as Toyota Motor Europe (TME) Deputy President. He was also a Toyota factory director in Onnaing in the North of France and a member of a worldwide committee of quality control following the technical faults in March 2009 which resulted in the recall of millions of cars at great cost to the company.

His appointment comes as part of a large-scale reshuffling of top management which has ushered in local managers to replace Japanese heads. He will be replacing Japanese Tadashi Arashima.

Toyota factories in Texas and Indiana are also to be placed under local management with the appointment of Americans at the helm.

“The aim is to put in place management structures in order to understand the local scenario with greater speed and accuracy in identifying local needs,” explained Toyota.