Akio Toyoda

In 2023, Akio Toyoda stepped back from day-to-day leadership of the company his grandfather founded, but he still holds an immense amount of sway at the automaker that sold more cars than anyone in 2023. His decision to bet on hybrid vehicles instead of electric is paying dividends: Toyota sold 3.4 million hybrids in 2023, a huge increase from 2022’s 2.6 million. Despite a series of safety issues that have plagued Japanese automakers, Toyota notched around $312 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2024, up 14% from the year before. As for Toyoda, he told Fortune when he took the CEO job in 2009 that his passions have always been racing cars and being shoulder to shoulder with Toyota’s workers on the factory floor.