For those paying attention, it will feel a little bit like Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA just appointed a new president, but that was just a little less than five years ago. Then president Eigo Konya guided Kawasaki through a global pandemic,which happened to see some of the highest sales in powersports in the last 15 years resulting in the company achieving record retail sales. With this recent announcement, Mr. Konya will return to Kawasaki Motors, LTD. in Japan.
This positions 30-year Kawasaki veteran Naoki Kawaguchi to take the helm as President of Kawasaki’s USA operations. Coming from a successful stint as the Executive Vice President, 4-Wheel Business, Kawaguchi steps into the role immediately, and looks to further expand Kawasaki’s foothold in the motorcycle, side-by-side and watercraft marketplaces.
Here’s the original press release from Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA:
Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. welcomes Naoki Kawaguchi to the role of President effective immediately. Mr. Kawaguchi has a long history with Kawasaki most recently serving as the Executive Vice President, 4-Wheel Business at Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. where he oversaw continued sales growth and the highly successful launches of both the Kawasaki Teryx KRX®4 1000 and Kawasaki RIDGE® side x side vehicles.
Mr. Kawaguchi started with Kawasaki 30 years ago as an engineer and has built a diverse background in a variety of roles including Vice President (Factory Manager) at Kawasaki Motors Enterprise Co., LTD in Thailand, various roles within Marketing & Sales as well as Business Planning divisions with Kawasaki Motors, LTD in Japan, and President of Kawasaki Motores do Brazil Ltda. all prior to coming to the United States in 2022.
After leading Kawasaki’s U.S. operations through a global pandemic and helping the company achieve record retail sales, Mr. Eigo Konya will return to Kawasaki Motors, LTD. in Japan where he will serve as Deputy General Manager of Sales & Marketing, Senior Manager of Sales Planning Division, and Manager of Accessories Section.
“This is a very exciting time for Kawasaki,” said Mr. Kawaguchi. “My time dedicated to growing our 4-wheel business culminated with the successful launch of the Kawasaki RIDGE and we have big goals to continue to grow our side x side business along with building on our successful 2-wheel and Jet Ski® heritage. Kawasaki is fortunate to have the best dealer network in the industry and the future is looking very bright.”
