© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Toyota logo is seen on the hood of the newly launched Camry Hybrid Electric Vehicle at a hotel in New Delhi, India January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Anushri Vadnavis/File Photo
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By Daniel Lusink
TOYOTA CITY, Japan (Reuters) – Shareholders of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation voted against an unprecedented decision on the automaker’s climate stress and backed its board of directors at an annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, in an endorsement of its strategy.
Shareholder rejection of the climate stress resolution – which was put forward by three European asset managers – was widely expected, given the strength of management support among individual Japanese investors, and the number of Toyota group companies and their suppliers in its shareholders. a base.
Shareholders also voted in favor of all 10 board members. This vote, and especially the support of Chairman Akio Toyoda, came into focus after some major US pension funds said they would not vote for Toyoda, citing concerns about the independence of the board.
Voting details have not yet been published.
The shareholder meeting came a day after the world’s largest automaker announced an ambitious electric vehicle (EV) roadmap.
That plan, which included details about solid-state batteries and sweeping production changes, sent the strongest signal yet that Toyota wants to capture more market share for battery electric vehicles.
The Japanese giant has become a target in recent years of friendly activists and investors who said it was slow to roll out electric vehicles. Toyota is taking a multi-track approach to carbon neutrality that includes gasoline-electric hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells, along with electric vehicles.
It said its approach is more effective in reducing carbon emissions and more practical as customer needs, electric vehicle infrastructure and clean energy supplies vary by country.
