Osamu Masuko, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, will step down from his role as chief executive (CEO) on June 21. He will, however, remain as the Chairman to the Japanese automaker.
Masuko will be replaced by Takao Kato, who is currently the president of its operations in Indonesia.
According to media reports, Mitsubishi Motors said that Masuko and Kato will hold a press conference on May 20 to discuss the changes.
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Masuko has been with the Mitsubishi Motors since 1972 and was made president in 2007 before being elevated into the position of CEO in 2014. During his time as Mitsubishi’s chief, Masuko has sought to refocus the company’s limited development resources on crossover vehicles and emerging market vehicles.
Kato joined Mitsubishi in 1984 and has held many senior roles at the company’s factory in Nagoya. He had spent four years in Russia before returning to Japan in 2014. Kato was made president of Mitsubishi Motors Indonesia in 2015.
Japan’s sixth-largest automaker, in which Nissan Motor Co holds a controlling stake, said this month it expects profit to fall to 90.0 billion yen ($821 million) in the year to March as it navigates slowing demand for cars, global trade frictions and the need to develop new technologies.
Mitsubishi’s partners Nissan and France’s Renault are meanwhile grappling with the fallout from the arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the group’s former chairman, who is facing charges of financial misconduct in Japan. Ghosn has denied all charges against him.
(With agency inputs)