Japan's Hitachi Astemo appoints Honda veteran as next CEO

TOKYO: Japan's Hitachi Astemo says an auto industry veteran will take over as top executive from Brice Koch, who handled the automotive supplier's response to misconduct over testing and other procedures for components going back as far as the 1980s.

Hitachi Astemo, which makes a wide range of car, motorcycle and train parts such as brake systems and powertrains, is a joint venture between Hitachi and Honda Motor Co Ltd.

Honda director Kohei Takeuchi (inset) will become its new president and CEO effective July 1, pending the approval of the shareholders and board later this month, Hitachi Astemo said in a statement on Thursday.

In a career spanning over four decades at Honda, Takeuchi held posts such as risk management officer and chief financial officer.

Koch was stepping down from his role because of his appointment as board chairman of Hitachi Europe Ltd, Hitachi Astemo said in the statement.

It did not refer to the issues it found with testing and other procedures for components.

Koch last month announced the outcome of a probe into the wrongdoing that found that employees had wrongly handled test and other procedures at 11 domestic and four overseas plants, affecting 22 products for 69 customers.

The longest running issue the company found at that time had lasted for about 40 years from January 1983.