Toyota ends sponsorship ties with International Olympic Committee over ‘political’ Games
Chairman questions whether the event is still ‘putting athletes first’ as he ends the auto giant’s involvement after end of 10-year deal
Japanese auto giant Toyota is to end their top-tier Olympics sponsorship, its chairman has said, citing the sporting showpiece’s “increasingly political” influence that puts athletes on the back burner.
Toyota struck a 10-year sponsorship deal in 2015 with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
But now, with the Paris Games over, the carmaker decided to end the contract, chairman Akio Toyoda said during a podcast episode uploaded on Thursday on the firm’s own YouTube channel.
“I’ve wondered for a while now whether the event is truly putting athletes first”, Toyoda said.
“It is also becoming increasingly political.”
The withdrawal means Olympics logos currently carried by Toyota products will be phased out, and its vehicles will no longer be provided to assist with the event, the chairman said.
