Honda Malaysia is strong in its gender equality and especially in product planning, teams have been led by women. Now the company can add having its first female Managing Director and CEO, Madoka Chujo to the list. While she is not the first female heading a car company in Malaysia, she is still one of the few to date.

Ms Chujo takes over from Toichi Ishiyama who returns to the head office in Japan. She was previously Vice-President at Honda Canada Inc. since 2019. She has been with Honda Motor Company for 23 years and has held various roles in Japan, China, Spain and Canada. Her expertise and experience are in the area of sales strategy which she applied in her previous positions.

Commenting on her new role at Honda Malaysia, Ms. Chujo said: “Malaysia is indeed an important market in the Asia and Oceania region with Honda Malaysia achieving various significant sales milestones and has become one of the leading automotive brands in the country. I am looking forward and excited for my first assignment as the MD and CEO of Honda Malaysia and, at the same time, I am also eager to explore Malaysia as the country is unique and a melting pot of diverse cultures and people, with enormous potential and of course, a fast-paced work environment.”

Mr. Ishiyama, who was with Honda Malaysia since November 2017, oversaw the continued growth of the company as it passed 900,000 unit sales in 2019 and then reached the 1 millionth sales unit in March 2021 (the numbers are taken from the time Honda Malaysia was established). During Mr. Ishiyama’s term, Honda Malaysia has also continued to maintain its position as the No. 1 Non-National car brand for six consecutive years. The achievements are noteworthy, especially with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic since March last year.

Honda stays at No.1 position in Non-National segment for 6th year