At the 2025 Japan Mobility Expo, Toyota President Tsunayoshi Sato gave many directional tips on how Toyota can quickly respond to the evolution and changes in the Chinese market in an interview with Chinese media.

Among them, "trust" and "delegation of power" have become the most important cores, which also shows the reverse force exerted by the Chinese market on international giants. As the most representative market for global new energy and intelligence, Toyota's adaptation to the Chinese market is also providing new development ideas for more international car companies.

Trust and Delegating Power, Toyota's Sato Hengzhi's New Solution for China

01 Reshaping Localization with RCE System to Give the Team More Trust

What is' making better cars'? "In an interview, Tsunayoshi Sato specifically mentioned President Akio Toyoda's words, and he also gave his own choice and answer in the Chinese market:" Trust China's partners and teams

Guided by this direction, Toyota is promoting the integration of One R&D's localized research and development system, as well as the implementation of the RCE (Chief Engineer in China) system. These new measures have brought more deeply localized global car models to Chinese users, as well as multiple pure electric new cars developed together with Chinese partners.

Sato Tsunayoshi made it clear that he "will not impose restrictions on the RCE team. They will propose to me based on local market demand, saying that this is the car that Chinese consumers like. Then I will 100% trust them to develop such a car

Trust and Delegating Power, Toyota's Sato Hengzhi's New Solution for China

This change is not only reflected in Toyota, an international car company. Currently, in the Chinese market, more joint venture car companies have also begun the evolution process of joint venture models. Chinese teams have gradually started to export their product concepts and research and development value to the global market from simple "input". This process marks a shift in the research and development philosophy of global car companies, represented by Toyota, from adapting to China as a "global car" to "China debut, China definition".

Sato Tsunayoshi emphasized that China is the region with the fastest development of electrification and intelligence in the world. Two years ago, Toyota's China head, Ueda, emphasized to him that "speed is crucial". The only way to achieve speed is to "enable localization", allowing those who understand the needs of the region the most to plan and develop.

02 Intelligent Partner Thinking and the Road to Reshaping High end Brands

Similarly, in the face of the Chinese market's "rapid advancement" in automotive intelligence, Toyota is gradually pushing forward in an extremely restrained manner. They have not chosen to take over everything, but have chosen a more tailored partner mindset, actively embracing various partners in China and quickly landing on the product side.

When asked about breakthroughs in intelligence, Sato Tsunayoshi's response was that Toyota hopes to "work closely with partners," while Toyota itself focuses on "providing the foundation for vehicles to be equipped with these intelligent technologies.

This strategy is more similar to providing a stable and reliable hardware platform, and then opening up interfaces to excellent technology partners. This may be a more pragmatic and efficient path in the Chinese market, and also reflects Toyota's flexibility in adopting different strategies in different regional markets.

At this Japan Mobile Mobility Expo, another important event was the personal announcement by President Akio Toyota of the launch of the Toyota Sagitar as an independent brand, emphasizing that Toyota "will strive to become the Sagitar brand for the next 100 years".

Trust and Delegating Power, Toyota's Sato Hengzhi's New Solution for China

At present, Toyota has also confirmed that China is the only market in the world that SEGI imports outside of Japan, which shows Toyota's emphasis on the SEGI brand and the Chinese market. It is not difficult to see from the SEGI coupe concept car released at this auto show that the SEGI brand will also make some adjustments and enter the "sensory competition" of the Chinese luxury car market with a younger attitude.

For another high-end brand, Lexus, a series of topics surrounding the Lexus Shanghai factory have always been of great concern to Chinese media, which is also a deeper cooperation between Lexus and China. Lexus' new energy project base started construction in Shanghai at the end of June this year, with plans to complete it in August 2026 and start production in 2027, with an annual planned production capacity of 100000 units.

At the same time, Tsunayoshi Sato reiterated the concept of "making the most basic parts of the vehicle solid". He believes that as a luxury brand, Lexus not only provides vehicle value, but also serves as a partner for a high-end lifestyle, especially in China where many consumers have a high level of sensory experience. They value the driving experience more and are more sensitive than consumers in other markets.

Chapter 03: What the Male President Taught Me: Toyota's Cultural Background

In the interview, Tsunayoshi Sato also shared some details of his interaction with President Akio Toyoda. He admitted that he "still learns from the president every day" and said that what impressed him the most was that Akio Toyoda "didn't let everyone do what he liked, but let everyone do what they liked".

Sato summarized all of this as' trust '. He believes that "if I don't trust everyone, then localization strategy cannot be carried out." To some extent, this may also be the starting point of yesterday's idea of preferring to trust Chinese local teams.

Trust and Delegating Power, Toyota's Sato Hengzhi's New Solution for China

Of course, as the leader of a company of this scale, Tsunayoshi Sato also has an unavoidable problem of "pressure". When asked how to deal with stress, Sato Tsunayoshi showed his true nature as a "car lover". He joked that he has 8 old cars, including classic models such as Celica, Supra, and MR2. When under pressure, he would "bully" cars and try to push them to the limit.

And his daily troubles are even more real: 'I bought another one behind my wife's back,' but I don't know how to tell her the truth.

Summary: Toyota seeks change, trust comes first

From 'strong global standards' to' 100% trust in local teams', Sato Hengzhi has demonstrated a softer, more flexible, and more pragmatic Toyota. Faced with fierce competition in the Chinese market, Toyota is attempting to achieve speed and precision through thorough decentralization and full trust in local talent. This trust based localization transformation will determine Toyota's future direction in the Chinese market.