First American on Toyota's board

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Toyota Motor elected its first American director at its shareholders meeting Friday, naming its North American chief Jim Press to its 30-member board, a sign of the growing importance of that market to the company's success.

Press, who was already the first American to head the company's North American unit, was nominated to the board in April. A 37-year veteran of Toyota (Charts), Press oversees what is now the most important division for the automaker.

Jim Press became the first American elected to Toyota's board of directors Friday.

Toyota's North American sales rose 15 percent in the fiscal year that ended March 31, to 2.94 million vehicles, and now account for about 35 percent of the company's global sales. Growth in North America let Toyota pass DaimlerChrysler (Charts) to become the No. 3 U.S. automaker last year, and it is poised to pass Ford Motor's (Charts, Fortune 500) long-held position as the No. 2 U.S. automaker as soon as this year.

Also this year Toyota is likely to pass General Motors (Charts, Fortune 500) to be the No. 1 global automaker, as its first quarter sales were ahead of GM's reported sales for the first time. One ranking of global automakers, done by trade publication Automotive News, put Toyota slightly ahead of GM in 2006, due to how it counts sales from Chinese joint ventures.

Press, who came up through the marketing and sales side of the business, now oversees extensive manufacturing operations in North America as well. In April, the company broke ground on its eighth vehicle assembly line, a Mississippi plant expected to be in operation by 2010. That will give the company capacity in North America of 2.2 million vehicles, with a total of 15 plants here.

Toyota's North American sales are now almost 30 percent greater than its Japanese sales, which fell 4 percent in fiscal 2007 after being essentially flat the previous year.

Toyota shareholders approved new duties for Akio Toyoda, a member of the company's founding family, putting him in charge of Japanese sales and customer service.

Toyoda, who was already a director and is the son of the company's honorary chairman Shoichiro Toyoda, is rumored to be being groomed as a future president, having undertaken a broad range of stints including China. The 51-year-old was previously executive vice president in charge of purchasing.

But despite the sluggish domestic sales, Toyota's overall global sales have grown 7 percent, with strong gains in North America and China.

Toyota's net income rose nearly 20 percent to a record high in its fiscal year ending in March, putting it in stark contrast to No. 2 Japanese automaker Nissan (Charts), which saw net income fall slightly in its most recent fiscal year. Nissan executives recently fielded harsh questions from shareholders at its annual meeting, including one call for the resignation of its star CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Toyota's shareholders meeting was a quiet love-fest by comparison.

"I don't have any question. I just want to thank you for the wonderful work you are doing," said one woman who spoke at the meeting, her voice quivering as she fought back tears in the presence of over 2,500 fellow investors.