Toyota President Akio Toyoda was the driver wheeling the resurrected Supra sports car onstage. Toyota did not announce Toyoda's appearance in advance of the Monday press conference.
DETROIT — This was supposed to be a sleepy, Detroit-centric auto show. But it got some unexpected global executive star power, thanks to surprise visits Monday morning from CEOs of two of the world's biggest automakers.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda was the driver wheeling the resurrected Supra sports car onstage. Toyoda spearheaded the return of the Supra after a two-decade absence and drove a test Supra around Germany's Nurburgring circuit during a race in October.
And Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen Group, took part in VW's plant announcement for Tennessee along with the state's governor. Then on Tuesday, he was expected to take the stage in a joint update on cooperation talks between VW and Ford Motor Co., but that discussion as of Monday afternoon was instead scheduled to take place during a conference call.
Neither company alerted the press about the appearances beforehand.
Of course, Renault-Nissan's Carlos Ghosn had been scheduled to be in Detroit this week. But word is, he's been otherwise detained.
VW CEO Herbert Diess appeared at a press conference announcing the automaker's new plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.
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