Investors reappoint chairman

Toyota’s shareholders have voted to re-elect chairman Akio Toyoda to the company’s board of directors, despite opposition from a number of overseas investors.

About 85 per cent of votes backed Toyoda’s reappointment at the Japanese carmaker’s annual general meeting this month, which is his lowest approval rating in at least five years.

Support for the grandson of the company’s founder was down from 96 per cent just a year earlier when he was president and chief executive, reports Reuters.

Some shareholders had raised concerns ahead of the June 14 meeting about keeping Toyoda, pictured, as chairman, arguing the business had fallen behind rivals in the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) because of his commitment to a “multipathway” approach.

Two major pension funds in the United States — the California Public Employees Retirement System and the New York City Comptroller’s office — said they planned to vote against Toyoda.

About 15 per cent of shareholders also backed a resolution that would have compelled Toyota to make greater disclosure of its climate change lobbying activities, but it fell short of the two-thirds majority required to pass.