Tracing Akio Toyoda's 24-year career at Toyota Motor Corp back to its genesis is to witness a carefully drafted roadmap for a climb to the top.

His appointment as president of his grandfather's company comes at a time of crisis, with the world's top car maker caught in the same downdraft from the global credit crunch that has sent car sales plunging globally and rivals queuing up for bailouts.

Ambitious and studious, Toyoda has overseen a full range of automotive operations at the company founded in 1937 by his grandfather, Kiichiro, and run by his father, Shoichiro, for a decade in the 1980s.