Toyota’s Partnership with the Paris Olympic Games 2024
Toyota will put more than 3,000 electrified and hybrid passenger vehicles on the road during Paris 2024. All these solutions will contribute to reducing carbon emissions.
What to expect
Electric Mobility Showcase: Expect to see tons of electric and hybrid vehicles at the Games, highlighting Toyota's technology and reducing emissions by 50%.
Focus on Inclusion: Toyota will offer personal mobility devices like E-pullers for wheelchair users and ensure fair access through a mobile app. After the Games, these vehicles will stay in Paris for the community!
Beyond Branding: Toyota's supporting local projects and community programs in Paris, leaving a lasting impact beyond the Games. However, some question their true motives, suggesting it's a marketing ploy to boost their electric vehicle image.
In the fast-paced arena of business strategy, the fusion of corporate titans and mega sporting events unfolds a gripping narrative, and Toyota, the Japanese automotive giant, stands as a shining example with its enduring legacy of sponsorship of the Olympics. This year, the anticipation is electrifying as Toyota gears up once again to take center stage as a Worldwide Partner for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, not merely as a participant, but as a trendsetter in the grand spectacle of the automotive world.
In line with the commitment of this year's Olympic Games to halve CO2 emissions compared to previous Games, Toyota is set to contribute significantly by supplying the event with an array of electric and hybrid vehicles to achieve this goal. Additionally, this endeavor provides Toyota with an invaluable opportunity to present its technological prowess, showcasing the world the potential of its products to seamlessly navigate the ongoing energy transition.
"When everyone is free to move, we will be one step closer to an inclusive and sustainable society," said Yoshihiro Nakata, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe in a press conference announcing the sponsorship. "We share this vision with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC). We want to support athletes who dedicate their lives to sport and remove barriers to exercising their freedom of movement."
In collaboration with the aforementioned institutions and the Paris Organizing Committee, Toyota aims to make Paris 2024 the most innovative, inclusive, and sustainable mobility showcase to date. The Toyota collaboration not only includes the supply of electric vehicles but will also feature several different hydrogen mobility applications to encourage the deployment of the charging infrastructure. This collaboration not only highlights Toyota's commitment to sport but also its dedication to values such as inclusion, sustainability, and innovation.
Technology and inclusion: Ensuring "mobility for all”
In Paris 2024, Toyota will make available around 700 personal mobility vehicles, including new-to-market products such as the C+walkS with seat and C+walkT for standing use. Both are battery-electric vehicles with a maximum speed of 6 km/h and front obstacle detection systems, ideal for use by people with reduced mobility.
For wheelchair users, Toyota will also provide 50 E-pullers in the athletes' village. An additional 150 will be made available during the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games for all those who require them. In addition, in keeping with its philosophy of ensuring fair and simple access to these personal micro-mobility solutions in the Paralympic Village, Toyota will offer them as a shared mobility service through the use of a mobile application.
After Paris 2024, all these vehicles will remain in the Paris region, where they will be used to provide specialized personal transportation services for people in wheelchairs and the whole community of people with reduced mobility.
As for the Olympic Committee's ambitious plan to reduce CO2 emissions at this year's Games, the Japanese carmaker is not lagging. For several years now, the company has made sustainability a fundamental part of its commitment to building a better world, underlined by its Environmental Challenge 2050, the date by which it aims to achieve carbon neutrality worldwide (and by 2040 in the case of Europe). Guided by this mission, Toyota will put more than 3,000 electrified and hybrid passenger vehicles on the road during Paris 2024. All these solutions will contribute to reducing carbon emissions from Paris 2024 Games vehicles by 50% compared to those of the previous Games.
Social Commitment: Beyond the Games
The collaboration between Toyota and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games seems not to be limited only to promoting the brand. The company has also demonstrated a strong social commitment by supporting local projects and community programs in Paris, since as previously mentioned, all of the vehicles provided by Toyota at the event will be at the disposal of the commune to provide sustainable mobility solutions to Parisians.
On the other hand, Toyota has a rich history of partnership with the Olympic Games. Its first link was established in 1988 when the company became an official sponsor of the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary. Since then, Toyota has played a vital role in supporting Olympic events around the world, strengthening its position as a trusted and committed partner of the Olympic movement.
One of the most prominent initiatives carried out by the company is the Toyota Global Team of Athletes (GTTA), a group of around 200 athletes from 40 countries that the company accompanied and sponsored on their way to the Olympic arena. These Olympic and Paralympic athletes embody Toyota's core value of continuous improvement and desire to overcome challenges.
It’s not all roses: Toyota's green ambitions amidst the EV market.
While so far we have discussed the upsides of this corporate sponsorship, the reality is that not everything is rosy for this Asian behemoth. For several years now, the Japanese giant has been losing market share due to its hesitancy to go fully electric. Toyota is losing ground as the world's largest car market accelerates its shift to electric vehicles. Manufacturers such as Tesla and various Chinese carmakers such as BYD and NIO are grabbing the market rapidly, while the Japanese company informed dealers that it plans to reduce production of EVs in China at one of its manufacturing plants in 2024.
With low-priced electric vehicles, such as the BYD Dolphin, which starts at $17,500 in China, Toyota and other manufacturers are being squeezed out of the market. Toyota’s reticence towards electric vehicles is taking its toll in the world's largest car market. While the competition continues to gain market share, laggard EV manufacturers are falling further and further behind.
Toyota's sponsorship of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games therefore raises uncomfortable questions about its true intentions. While the Japanese company purports to present this endorsement as a commitment to sustainability and electrified mobility, some critics see it as a blatant attempt to gain market share in the electric vehicle sector. Is Toyota really committed to a greener future, or is it simply a clever ploy to enhance its image and position its electrified vehicles in an increasingly competitive market?
The line between noble sponsorship and opportunistic marketing strategy seems to be blurring, leaving consumers to wonder whether the true motivation behind Toyota's Olympic alliance sustainable innovation is simply maximizing sales in a world that is hungry for greener vehicles.
Toyota Motor Group TM 0.00%↑Financial Outlook
For FY2024 (April 2023 - March 2024) and Yen (¥) in billions
Toyota and Lexus expect to sell 11,380,000 (+822K YoY) vehicles worldwide.
Increase operating income from ¥2,725 (FY2023) to ¥4,500 (FY2024)
Dividend payout of 30 yen (~ $0.20) per share and share repurchase program of 100 billion yen (~$672 million).
Toyota was crowned world’s top-selling automaker for the fourth consecutive year at the end of December 2023. They continue to build quality vehicles at affordable prices which is especially important in today’s economic environment. They are also the only automaker to not commit fully to manufacturing battery electric vehicles, and instead offer an array of alternative energy vehicles like hybrids, hydrogen cell, plug-in hybrids, and battery EVs.
A recommended strategy: Long-term buy-and-hold, and reinvest dividend income*
