Acting CEO Ishikawa now takes the helm of market dominant make.

CHANGE has come at the top of Toyota in New Zealand, with a Japanese national who became acting chief executive in abrupt circumstances last year now confirmed as a permanent appointment to that role.

Palmerston North-headquartered Toyota New Zealand’s announcement today in respect to Tatsuya Ishikawa tied into a media share about leadership changes within the country’s dominant and most powerful car brand.

Prior to Ishikawa, all CEOs have been New Zealanders. His predecessor was Neeraj Lala, who took a leave of absence from June 27, with his resignation confirmed on July 23.

A statement today said Ishikawa will lead TNZ into its next chapter with a focus on delivering sustainable mobility solutions and exceptional customer experiences.

It spoke of his focus on bringing the global perspective of Toyota Motor Company in Japan to TNZ, with domestic market strategy and network matters being the responsibility of senior members of staff.

“Given how well Ishikawa has performed in the Acting role, along with his connections to Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and the global Toyota family, this was a natural appointment,” said Akitoshi Takemura, Toyota New Zealand board chair.

Though only made public today, the appointment, along with the elevation of TNZ executives Mark Young and Andrew Davis, who also heads Lexus New Zealand, to directorships on the TNZ board, have been effective since March 26, the date of the most recent board meeting.

Ishikawa was already in New Zealand when he took over from Lala, being based in Auckland and working on what TNZ-supplied material says was “a range of innovative development projects for the company.” He had arrived in 2023.

He joined Toyota Motor Corporation in 2005 with a master’s degree in engineering and began his career in Project Planning, working on the second-generation Yaris. His role involved frequent travel to Europe where the Yaris would be built, in France.

He then moved to the Business Planning department, where he worked on planning the first-generation C-HR, a Toyota Caetano Portugal SA (TCAP) plan, and on business reforms in the European Union. In this time, he also worked for Alliance PJT with Peugeot. He then spent five years working in the revenue management group (pricing function) in sales for Toyota Motor Europe (TME).

Before coming to New Zealand, Ishikawa worked in global product planning for small vehicles, including the Yaris and Yaris Cross, as well as all Toyota’s battery electric models. During this time, he was part of the team that won Japan 2021 Car of the Year for thevToyota Yaris.

Ishikawa played a role in creating the second-generation C-HR from concept to car. The goal in the development of the C-HR was to create a more outstanding and distinctive design.

Ishikawa is married with three children, aged 12, 10, and six.