In a podcast episode posted on the company’s YouTube channel on Thursday, chairman Akio Toyoda announced that Toyota would be ending its top-tier Olympics sponsorship. The carmaker had a 10-year sponsorship deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2015, but now that the Paris Games have concluded, it has decided to pull out.
“I’ve wondered for a while now whether the event is truly putting athletes first,” Toyoda said. “It is also becoming increasingly political.” As a result of the withdrawal, Toyota products will no longer bear the Olympics logo, and its vehicles will no longer be provided to assist with the event, the chairman said.
The firm is also terminating its Paralympic sponsorship agreement, according to public broadcaster NHK. Toyoda told US car dealers, “I think the Olympics should just be about watching athletes from all walks of life, with all kinds of challenges, achieve their impossible.” Toyota has decided to sever its ties to the Olympics, joining Panasonic, another Japanese corporation.
Earlier this month, Panasonic declared their departure, giving the excuse “management considerations.” When the present contract expires in December, the electronics giant stated Samsung has agreed with the IOC not to prolong its sponsorship relationship.
In 1987, Panasonic was designated as a “official Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games,” and starting in 2014, it also began to support the Paralympic Games. However, as “the Group continually reviews how sponsorship should evolve with broader management considerations,” it chose to let the arrangement expire.
Without providing further information, Panasonic stated that “the parties agreed to refrain from renewing the Olympic and Paralympic Partner Agreement as a result of this review and after extensive consultation with the IOC.”
