Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Group, said of Hyundai Motor Group competing in the recently opened "2026 World Rally Championship (WRC)," "I am more than delighted that we can once again run together as great rivals this year, and I am very much looking forward to it."
According to Toyota Korea on the 2nd, Toyoda said in newspaper ads in Korea and Japan that day, "Hyundai Motor seems to have a strong competitive spirit, but Toyota also has a very strong competitive spirit," and added, "Because there is both the vexation and joy that come from competing with rivals, I think it spurs both sides to make better cars."
He added, "Everyone at Hyundai Motor, let's enjoy another great rally this season that will fire up fans' hearts."
Toyoda also said, "As one rally fan, I am thinking, 'If rivals other than Hyundai and Ford appear, the atmosphere will get even hotter,'" and in smaller type he added, "I really hope that happens."
Toyota Group and Hyundai Motor Group compete in motorsports while continuing to encourage each other. In 2024, when Thierry Neuville of the "Hyundai Shell World Rally Team" won the WRC drivers title, Toyota Group ran a congratulatory ad, and in December last year Hyundai Motor Group also ran a "response ad" congratulating the "Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team" on achieving the treble in the WRC manufacturers, drivers, and co-drivers titles.
On Jan. 9, at a press conference at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, for the "2026 Tokyo Auto Salon," Toyoda said, "I think it is important that an open contest (among Hyundai Motor, Ford, and Toyota) is unfolding," and added, "The 'call and response' between rivals is truly great communication." Call and response refers to "healthy competition," in which when one team first showcases overwhelming technology, a competitor responds by developing even more innovative technology to surpass it.