Shoichiro Toyoda, who led Toyota Motor Co.’s expansion into North America and set the company on a path to becoming one of the world’s most powerful automakers, died Feb. 14 at 97.

The son of Kiichiro Toyoda, the company’s founder, Shoichiro Toyoda joined the business in 1952. In 10 years, he had risen to the position of managing director. He was promoted to senior managing director in 1967, executive vice president in 1972, and president of the company’s marketing organization in 1981. He became president of the company in 1982 and served as chairman from 1992 to 1999.