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Shinichi Yasui

Shinichi Yasui

ToyotaDevelopment lead

Led development of the tenth- and 11th-generation Corollas, serving as development lead for every Corolla, including Japan's

Timeline

  1. 1988

    Joined

    Toyota Motor Corporation

  2. 1997

    Toyota Motor Corporation Product Planning

  3. 2002

    Toyota Motor Corporation Corolla product planning

  4. 2006
    Corolla 10th generation
    Corolla 10th generation

    2006–2020Development lead

    Worked with

    Learning abroad what a global model means

    Around the time concept studies for the tenth generation began, Yasui moved to Corolla product planning, and chief engineer Takeshi Yoshida sent him on a trip abroad, telling him that since he didn't know the Corolla, he should go and take a good look overseas. He had thought of it in Japan as a car for older people, but in one country it was popular with families with children, and in another with young people. There, he felt he finally understood what Tatsuo Hasegawa meant by "a Corolla for the happiness and welfare of the people of the earth."

  5. 2012
    Corolla 11th generation
    Corolla 11th generation

    2012–2026Development lead

    Worked with

    Lengthening the wheelbase even through the Lehman shock

    Hearing that the tenth generation was a good car but lacked excitement, Yasui thought of lengthening the wheelbase by 100 mm on the overseas versions of the 11th generation. It was just when the Lehman shock hit, and the company's policy was to hold down investment. Lengthening it meant major changes to production lines at 16 plants around the world. Even so, he went around persuading people that if it improved the styling and enlarged the cabin, it had to be done now.

  6. 2015

    Managing Officer (Executive Chief Engineer)

  7. 2016

    Toyota Motor Corporation Product Planning, Mid-size Vehicle Company

  8. 2017

    Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North AmericaManaging OfficerPresidentR&D Executive Vice President

  9. 2023

    Chief Project Leader, Hydrogen Factory

  10. 2024

    Toyota Motor EuropeR&D Executive Vice President

Connections

Shinichi Yasui

Shinichi Yasui

  • Takeshi Yoshida

    Takeshi Yoshida

    Superior

    When concept studies for the tenth-generation Corolla began, Yoshida, then chief engineer, sent Yasui on a business trip abroad, telling him, "You probably don't know anything about the Corolla, so go overseas and take a good look."

Profile

Graduated from Meiji University Graduate School, Mechanical Engineering. Development lead for the tenth- and eleventh-generation Corolla. He later became development lead for every Corolla, including those for the Japanese market.

Translated from Japanese sources.

Toyota engineers

All Toyota engineers