Honda Motor Co said on Monday Chief Executive Officer Takeo Fukui would step down in June, to be replaced by Senior Managing Director Takanobu Ito in a widely expected move amid a global crisis in the auto industry. Fukui, 64, will complete six years at the helm and become an executive adviser to Japan's No.2 automaker as it, like the rest of the industry, faces a frozen credit market that has sent sales skidding. Ito, 55, is currently in charge of automobile operations, having followed a career track that many saw as leading to the top post. Like Fukui, he previously headed Honda R&D Co, the carmaker's research arm. “Honda is at its core a fun company, where we hope customers buy cars with the same enjoyment we have in making them,” Ito told a news conference. “I want to raise motivation so that we have fun again.” Among other achievements, Ito, an easy-going and outspoken engineer, is credited for developing the world's first mass-produced all-aluminum-body car, the NSX sports car, which went on sale in 1990. Automakers everywhere are grappling with plunging sales and Honda will be fighting an uphill battle against losses in the new business year from April, as a strong yen adds to the pain when profits are repatriated. “It's precisely because times are so tough that I thought we should overcome these times under a young leader,” said Fukui. Thanks to its more cautious and measured business approach, Honda is still expecting to stay in the black for the year to March 31, unlike rivals Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co. Fukui resisted building a car factory in Russia when most rivals took the plunge when sales there were soaring last year. Car sales in Russia have since reversed, falling by double-digits in the past few months. Honda's shares extended losses after the news, trading down 4.9 percent, before closing down 3.8 percent at 2,160 yen.
