Newly appointed COO Sinead Kaiya is charged with making growth and sustainability a reality at Toyota Motor's autonomous-driving technology unit.

The U.S.-based company operates 25 vehicles in nine cities including Arlington, Texas, and Hiroshima, Japan.

Akio Toyoda is speaking out against the industry's rush to push technological boundaries: "I don't think it's at all realistic yet that self-driving cars can travel normally on ordinary roads."