Mazda Motors Names Masahiro Moro as President and CEO

Mazda Motor Corp announced Masahiro Moro, director and senior managing executive officer, as its new president and CEO on Friday.

The 62-year-old, a 40-year company veteran who previously led the automaker's North American operations, will officially take over in June, subject to shareholder and board approval.

Current President and CEO Akira Marumoto, who took over in 2018, will step down at that time, according to the company. Separately, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday that Marumoto would continue to serve as an adviser.

The leadership change comes as the company, which is owned 5.1% by Toyota Motor Corp, announced in November that it would increase spending on electrifying its vehicles and is considering investing in battery production.

Kiyotaka Shobuda, the current representative director and chairman of the board, will remain in his position, according to Mazda.

Mazda Motor Corporation, also known simply as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuch, Hiroshima, Japan.

Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales in 2015, nearly one million of which were produced in the company's Japanese plants, with the remainder coming from a variety of other plants around the world. Mazda was the 15th-largest automaker in terms of global production at the time.