Toyota Group Chairman Toyoda Akio mentioned receiving congratulations from Hyundai Motor late last year for winning the "2025 World Rally Championship (WRC)" and said, "A 'call and response' between rivals is truly great communication."
On the 9th, at a press conference for the '2026 Tokyo Auto Salon' held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, Chairman Toyoda picked "achieving the WRC triple crown and congratulations from Korea" as No. 9 on the "top 10 news of 2025." In last season's WRC, Toyota swept the manufacturer, driver, and co-driver categories.
In response, on Dec. 22 last year, Hyundai Motor placed congratulatory ads for the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) in major media in Korea and Japan. It also served as a reply to the congratulatory ad Toyota ran when Thierry Neuville of the 2024 Hyundai World Rally Team won the driver category. The ad featured the phrase "Beyond competition" and images of key figures including Chairman Toyoda.
That day, Chairman Toyoda said, "Hyundai Motor, Ford, and Toyota are fiercely competing in the top category," and emphasized, "I think it's important that such open contests are unfolding."
He added, "If they (Hyundai Motor) had won, of course that would have been something to celebrate," and said, "I originally thought the manufacturer championship would go to Hyundai Motor, but Toyota won thanks to a miracle-like turn at the end." He also shared the backstory that they had to revise ad copy prepared in advance to congratulate Hyundai Motor on the victory, due to Toyota's comeback.
Chairman Toyoda described this relationship with Hyundai Motor as "call and response." In other words, when one team first showcases overwhelming technology, the competitor responds by developing even more innovative technology to surpass it—a relationship of "healthy competition."
Chairman Toyoda has long articulated the philosophy that "everyone who makes cars is a colleague." He also has a close relationship with Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Eui-sun. In Oct. 2024, the two companies co-hosted the "Hyundai N x Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival" at Everland Speedway in Yongin, Gyeonggi. Just a month later, the "2024 WRC" was held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, where Chung visited the site in person and met with Chairman Toyoda.