Toyota president may step down

Toyota Motor Corp. President Katsuaki Watanabe may step down next year and be succeeded by Akio Toyoda, grandson of the founder of the largest Asian automaker, said people familiar with the matter.

Watanabe’s exit would be intended in part to take responsibility for Toyota’s forecast this week for a 150-billion-yen ($1.7-billion) operating loss for the year ending in March, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because a decision hadn’t been announced.