F&I Management & Training

Honda chief executive Takeo Fukui is to step down in June and be replaced by senior managing director Takanobu Ito. Like most Japanese carmakers it has seen sales slide in the wake of the global downturn and tightening credit. Japanese exporters, such as Honda, have also been hit by the strong yen. Rivals such as Toyota and Nissan have had to cut both production and jobs. The move follows a similar change at the top of Toyota, where Akio Toyoda replaced Katsuaki Watanabe. Honda saw its quarterly profit to December 2008 profit plummet by 90% Japan's second-biggest carmaker is now expecting an 80bn yen ($856m; £579m) profit for the financial year which ends on 31 March, as against an earlier prediction of 185bn yen profit.

DATED: 25.02.09

FEED: AW