Heiwa Auto has confirmed the third generation of the Abe family is set to lead it into the future.
Following the passing of president Masatoshi Abe last month, his son Junji Abe has taken on the role.
At 23-years of age, Junji will be working on learning the business. He has already worked in a range of Heiwa divisions.
The board had long expected Junji would one day step into his father’s role, and have brought forward the transition.
While Junji learns, he will be guided by two of the group’s executive directors who will also handle the day-to-day leadership. Toshihito Yokozutsmi will be responsible for the Heiwa’s accounting side, while Kenji Sawa oversees the sales side.
John Davies remains the president of Autohub.
Autohub chief executive Frank Willett welcomed the appointment.
“Autohub NZ welcomes the decision by Junji san to take over the role of Group President,” Willett says. “He is surrounded with the solid support and experience of the Group senior management team.
“Once he has settled into this position, we look forward to his ideas and vision on where and how the company will head to face the challenges the future holds.”
Heiwa was established in 1966 as a motorbike shop and eventually started to handle automobiles with the development of the economy in Japan.
However, the most crucial turning point arrived in the first half of 1990, where it moved into the used car export market. It ended its used car sales in Japan, at that point, with the local market saturated, and moved to focus on markets such as New Zealand.
It operates under several brands and has diversified subsidiaries – Heiwa Auto, Enhance Auto, AutoPortal, and Unique Auto – as well as Autohub Logistics, H3 Joyfit fitness centres, recycling centres, kindergartens, a ramen franchise, and an elderly care centre.
AutoTalk travelled to Japan last week to meet with Junji and members of the Heiwa management team to discuss Abe and the future. Read about that visit in the next AutoTalk magazine.
