James Kuffner exits as CEO of Toyota’s technology unit

JAMES Kuffner is leaving his post as chief executive officer (CEO) of Toyota Motor Corp’s automotive-technology unit, Woven by Toyota, as the world’s largest carmaker seeks to accelerate the introduction of battery-based electric vehicles. 

Kuffner, 52, will be replaced by Hajime Kumabe at the unit, Toyota said in a statement on Thursday (Sep 7). Kumabe will step down as CEO of J-QuAD Dynamics Inc, a joint venture created in 2019 by Toyota’s top suppliers to develop autonomous driving technology. 

Toyota, the world’s top carmaker by units sold, has promised to rapidly expand electric vehicle production in the coming years, as the global industry rushes to become carbon-neutral by 2050. Kuffner’s exit comes about five months after Koji Sato succeeded Toyoda as CEO of Toyota. Sato announced a new management team soon after, appointing Hiroki Nakajima as chief technology officer (CTO).

Kuffner joined the Toyota Research Institute in 2016 as CTO; he was recruited by Akio Toyoda, chairman and former CEO of Toyota. The American was later put in charge of the carmaker’s digital efforts and appointed CEO of Woven Planet Holdings, which was renamed earlier this year. Kuffner joined Toyota’s board in 2020 and left as director in June of this year.

Woven by Toyota acted as the company’s research arm focused on the development of software and automated driving systems. The company is building a sprawling “future city” near the base of Mount Fuji to test its self-driving cars. It is scheduled to be completed sometime next year.

Kuffner earned a PhD from Stanford University and taught at Carnegie Mellon University, two institutions renowned as global leaders in autonomous-vehicle research. BLOOMBERG