Subaru is the latest Japanese automaker to get a new boss. Atsushi Osaki is the automaker's new president and chief executive officer. He is currently an executive vice president who acts as chief general manager of the company's manufacturing division. Tomomi Nakamura who currently leads the automaker becomes chairman of the board of directors. A shareholder vote in June 2023 gives full authorization to this change in leadership.
Osaki was born in Tokyo on April 19, 1962. In 1988, he graduated from the school of engineering at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. He joined Subaru in 1988. As he moved through the corporation, he primarily held roles in quality assurance.
Gallery: 2024 Subaru Crosstrek
"My successor, Mr. Osaki, was originally an engine design engineer. However, his subsequent career was very unique. Most recently, he has experienced the manufacturing department and a wide variety of departments, and has produced solid results in each of them. I believe that he is a person who can feel the qualities in all elements, even in light of the image of a CEO that our company should be," Nakamura said, according to Car Watch Impress in a translation.
Osaki didn't offer any hints about future product plans during the announcement of becoming president and CEO. Subaru's plan is reportedly for multiple electric vehicles to be available in the US lineup by 2025. The country is responsible for 75 percent of the automaker's global sales. The Solterra, which shares a platform with the Toyota bZ4X, is the only EV the brand currently offers there. By the mid-2020s, it intends to make EVs in-house.
However, Subaru doesn't plan to build EVs in the US anytime soon. A report claimed this was because the company thought wages were too high in the country. Instead, it planned to have an EV-only factory in Japan in 2027.
New generations of the Subaru Crosstrek and Impreza arrive in the US for the 2024 model year. Both of them are launching exclusively with combustion engines.
The Subaru leadership change comes after a recent executive shuffle at Toyota. Akio Toyoda is stepping down as the automaker's chief executive officer but becoming chairman of the board. Koji Sato is the new CEO.
