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Toyota North America Autonomous

According to Jim Press, Toyota Motor North America will be stronger after sexual harassment lawsuit.

Toyota North America, according Jim Press, the first American president of the division, "will have more authority and self-reliance over time."

Jim Press was head of U.S. sales until recently, but because of the recent lawsuit against Hideaki Otaka, led to Press' appointment in Otaka's seat.

"I'm hoping that at the holding company level, we can identify opportunities where all the affiliates can work together, sharing resources."

Regarding the 190 million dollar lawsuit filed by Sayaka Kobayashi, his predecessor's personal assistant, Press commented:

"We're going to make sure this is a learning process. No matter if something happened or not, when we finish our investigation, we'll take the right steps. But regardless of that, just because of the allegations, our company's gonna get stronger and we're gonna make sure nobody in our workplace ever feels uncomfortable."

"The fact of the matter is this is a very serious situation."

Press will be a top Toyota executive in North America, behind only Yukitoshi Funo, TMNA's chairman and CEO.

Jim Press joined Toyota in 1970, and has helped shape its U.S. product strategy for much of the past decade, encouraging Toyota to expand its range of sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks to attract a broader range of U.S. buyers.