To that end, Ogawa and the rest of Lentz’s leadership team — all of whom will be staying on — have taken steps to shore up their company and its dealers to get them through the crisis.
To assist dealers with short-term cash flow and liquidity, for example, Toyota Financial Services lowered floorplan interest rates, deferred principal and capital payments from dealers and shuttered manufacturing plants in part to reduce inventories. More actions will be taken as necessary, Ogawa says.
“Recovery and a return to normalcy is inevitable, only the timing is uncertain,” the new CEO said. “Our sales and marketing teams, while working remotely, are connected 24/7, developing our recovery plans for our dealers and Toyota. I am confident in the North American economy, auto industry and our partnership with our dealers and the communities where they do business.”
Ogawa said, personally, he will “try to stay calm, gather facts and value the input from my leadership team.” And he said he picked up some good advice from the man he is replacing.
“I heard a saying from Jim Lentz recently and I think it applies to this situation: ‘Confidence is contagious, and so is a lack of confidence.’ It’s my job to remain calm and control what I can control.”
