The IOC this announced that Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) will join The Olympic Partner (TOP) Programme.
The IOC and Toyota have reached an agreement through to 2024 in the mobility category, which includes vehicles, mobility services and mobility solutions. The announcement was made in the 2020 Olympic Games host city Tokyo by IOC President Thomas Bach and Toyota President Akio Toyoda.
In line with Olympic Agenda 2020, with sustainability as one of its key pillars, Toyota will work with the Organising Committees through to 2024 to provide sustainable mobility solutions for the Games to help with safer, more efficient mobility, including intelligent transport systems, urban traffic systems and vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems. The partnership will help deliver a mobility legacy in the host cities and countries.
IOC President Thomas Bach said: “This is a very symbolic day. It is the first time in the successful history of the TOP programme that we have had a mobility category. It is in the spirit of the Olympic Agenda 2020 not just in terms of innovation but also in terms of sustainability in mobility. Toyota is the world leader in its field and this partnership signifies a strong commitment to the future of the IOC and the Olympic Movement. Toyota and the IOC share the same values and we welcome Toyota Motor Corporation to the Olympic family.”
Toyota President Akio Toyoda commented as follows: “We will do everything possible to fulfil our new role in The Olympic Partner Programme and to justify the trust that the IOC has placed in us. The addition of the mobility category to The Olympic Partner Programme is important recognition for our entire industry. Under this Olympic flag, let us today reaffirm the power of sport to bring people together. Let us dedicate ourselves to creating a better world by promoting sport in the Olympic spirit of friendship, solidarity, and fair play.”
Toyota will also support the entire Olympic Movement through funding and a global promotional reach. Under the IOC’s management, the TOP Programme supports the National Olympic Committees and the Organizing Committees, helping ensure that the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement are truly global. The IOC redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 3.25 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. Toyota will also bring significant expertise to the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and further support the excellent progress it has already made. The Tokyo 2020 team, under the leadership of President Mori, has already embraced the philosophy of Olympic Agenda 2020 and the importance of sustainability. The excellent collaboration between the IOC and Tokyo 2020 has already resulted in savings of USD 1 billion from the revised construction budget, following the IOC’s approval of three venue changes to the master plan for the Games.
Tsunekazu Takeda, the IOC’s Marketing Commission Chairman, President of the Japanese Olympic Committee and Vice-President of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, said: “This agreement is a powerful indication of the strength of the Olympic brand globally and the appeal of an association with the Olympic Movement. Long-term partnerships are the backbone of our commercial programmes and they enable the financial security of the entire Olympic Movement. Toyota will become our 12th TOP Partner and the third company to have already committed through to 2024.”
Toyota will join the TOP Programme in 2017 (TOP IX), but will have marketing rights in Japan with immediate effect. The agreement covers all relevant Toyota brands within the category, including Toyota, Lexus and Scion. As a TOP Partner, Toyota will support the organizers of future Olympic Games, the IOC and National Olympic Committees and their Olympic teams around the world.
