Kent Rice, Toyota Motor Co. group VP of quality division, is retiring from the automaker effective Jan. 2, 2025, after a career spanning more that 33 years in various roles, the company announced in a press release Nov. 20.
Rice is responsible for the development, deployment and management of the quality systems and policies within Toyota’s North American operations. Prior to his current position, Rice was VP of quality at the former Toyota Engineering and Manufacturing of America in Kentucky.
Rice joined Toyota in 1991, starting as a quality engineer. His other roles in over a three decade career include serving as North American shop self-reliance lead for quality, and quality control general manager of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. Rice also held positions as assistant general manager of Lexus assembly in Canada and was responsible for the preparations for Toyota in Canada to build the first Lexus model outside of Japan.
Succeeding Rice is Tom Trisdale, Toyota’s current VP, quality promotion, assurance and audit. Trisdale will report to Chris Nielsen, EVP of product support and chief quality officer for Toyota Motor North America.
Toyota has received high vehicle quality scores over the years, and its vehicles are considered to be among the most reliable. Earlier this year, J.D. Power ranked Lexus first and Toyota second in its list of brands with the fewest reported problems in its 2024 Vehicle Dependability Study. The study focused on 184 problem areas across nine major vehicle categories and was based on over 30,000 responses from owners of 2021 vehicles after three years of ownership.
