Hiroki Nakaji

Operating Officer, Vice President, Executive VP, Chief Technology Officer & Director, Toyota Motor

Search every verified Hiroki Nakaji interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Hiroki Nakaji, who serves as an operating officer, vice president, executive vice president, chief technology officer, and director at Toyota Motor, participated in the company's New Management Policy & Direction Announcement on December 7, 2023. During a Q&A session, he responded to a question about the diversity of vehicles on display, stating that the variety, from trucks to sports cars, demonstrated Toyota's position as a full-lineup manufacturer and reflected the company's diverse customer needs. He said that innovation emerges from such diversity and described the variety of "car love" among employees as an indicator of Toyota's flexibility and an environment conducive to innovation. In a 2023 interview with Nippon TV, new Toyota president Koji Sato admitted that the company needed to work on its electric vehicle strategy. Under Sato, the firm adopted a goal of selling 1.5 million EVs per year by 2026. Sato said the company would make efforts to lower the price of EVs to the range of hybrids. Earlier, in 2016, Nakaji, then serving as chief engineer and managing director of Toyota in India, discussed the design of the second-generation Toyota Fortuner. He explained that the company decided to change the front fascia completely after customer complaints that the previous model looked too similar to the Hilux despite a higher price. He described the design concept as "tough and cool," noting that the body line was slightly kicked up at the rear to enhance the vehicle's image. He attributed the ability to create a distinct appearance while sharing many parts to the Toyota New Global Architecture.