Toyota Motor is tapping a new chief executive to steer the company through an era of rising protectionism and geopolitical frictions.

The world’s largest automaker announced on Friday that Kenta Kon, its chief financial officer, will become C.E.O. on April 1. He succeeds Koji Sato, who was given the top job three years ago and will now become vice chairman.

The leadership shift arrives at a fraught moment for the auto industry. Toyota continues to consistently top global sales. Yet it faces the specter of higher tariffs in its most important market, the United States, and rising competition and potential supply-chain squeezes from China.

Last year, Japan sealed a trade deal with the Trump administration that left it with a 15 percent tariff on its auto exports to the United States. While a significant reduction from the previously threatened 27.5 percent, the rate is still six times what U.S.-bound exports from companies like Toyota were subjected to in previous years.

Japanese automakers have warned that U.S. tariffs are cutting deeply into their profits. The impact of higher levies was significant enough that it pushed Canada on Thursday to announce a sweeping plan to offer billions of dollars in incentives and tax breaks. These measures aim to help turn Canada into a leader in electric vehicles and reduce its reliance on the United States.

In China, Toyota and other global automakers are contending with rising competition from homegrown upstarts, including the E.V. giant BYD, that are considered miles ahead in their development of next-generation vehicles that run on batteries and advanced software.