Will This New Plan Put Toyota Back on Top?

Toyota (NYSE:TM) President Akio Toyoda has shaken things up at the headquarters of the world’s largest car manufacturer — and he’s not about to stop, it seems.

A series of crises ranging from the typhoon in Japan that forced Toyota to cease operations to an accelerator issue in the U.S. that caused vehicles to accelerate to top speeds despite the driver’s wishes to remain more stationary, have plagued the company recently. The latter resulted in a recall of over five million vehicles, and cost the company $1.1 billion in settlements. The former dulled the company’s competitive edge against rivals like General Motors (NYSE:GM) as it rebuilt infrastructure after the disaster.

Since taking charge of the company in 2009, Toyoda has slimmed down his board of directors and given more power to executives outside the company’s native Japan to help his effort to refocus the company on quality and manufacturing flexibility. These changes have helped push Toyota back to the top of its industry.

The latest in executive changes is aimed to build on the reforms already in place.  Mr. Toyoda wants to give managers who are further down the corporate chain more authority to make day-to-day decisions, freeing the executive vice presidents to concentrate on strategic thinking, according to one source who asked not to be named because the plans have not been announced, Reuters stated.