Toyota shares surged the most since March 2020 following the reappointment of Chairman Akio Toyoda at the company’s annual shareholder meeting Wednesday, a leadership decision some overseas investors had opposed.
The shares were up 8% early in the afternoon, trading at their highest level since early 2022.
The AGM had become a referendum of sorts on the Japanese carmaker’s electric-vehicle strategy. A small but growing list of shareholders opposed the reappointment of Toyoda as chairman, arguing that the auto giant has fallen behind rivals because of his commitment to a "multipathway” approach — offering customers various options by selling gasoline and hybrid cars while investing in EVs, hydrogen and carbon neutral fuels.