Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda has been honoured with the Golden Steering Wheel for lifetime achievement.
Run by publisher Springer, the Golden Steering Wheel has been a fixture of the European car industry since 1976, with honorary awards added in 1983. This year's jury said Toyoda was recognised both for guiding Toyota through change and for his hands-on approach as a keen test driver.
Toyoda became president of Toyota Motor Corporation in 2009 during a difficult period for the company. Under his watch, the business stabilised and performance improved in key markets, including Europe. He moved to the role of chairperson in 2023, with long-running themes such as "mobility for all” still shaping the brand's direction.
The jury framed the accolade as the "Golden Steering Wheel for the driver,” nodding to Toyoda's time behind the wheel. Mentored by the late Hiromu Naruse, he spent years honing his skills at the Nürburgring and has often competed there under the "Morizo” pseudonym.
Inside Toyota and Lexus, he's known as a "master driver,” a role that keeps senior leadership close to product development.
Auto Bild editor-in-chief Robin Hornig said Toyoda stands out for mixing tradition, technology and a genuine enthusiasm for driving, stating, "He is one of the most influential personalities in the international automotive industry and at the same time one of the most passionate. He stands like no other for the combination of tradition, technology and genuine enthusiasm for driving."
In his acceptance remarks, Toyoda called the award a personal highlight, "It is a tremendous honour to be given a lifetime achievement award... I feel like I'm back at high school and I just got asked to hang out with the cool kids; that's how big a deal this is to me!"
He also used the moment to urge car makers to work together as the industry faces a period of rapid change. He said collaboration and pooling resources would help improve people's lives: "I think we can all agree that this is a challenging time for our industry, and I believe we need to reach out to each other and work together now more than ever. I believe we have a responsibility to use our collective resources to help make people's lives better."
Toyoda closed by thanking the organisers, the jury, Toyota's global teams and customers for the recognition: "I'm deeply humbled to receive this award, and I wanted to thank Mattias Döpfner, the organisers and the jury for recognising not just the cars that we build but the dedication and passion that I share with the 383,000 members of the Toyota team around the world. And finally, I would like to thank our customers; they're the ones that truly inspire us and without them I wouldn't be standing here today."