Toyota becomes Olympic sponsor
Toyota Motor Corp. signed on as a worldwide Olympic sponsor Friday in a landmark deal reportedly worth nearly $1 billion, becoming the first car company to join the IOC’s top-tier marketing program. The eightyear deal starts globally in 2017 and runs through the 2024 Olympics. It will cover three consecutive Olympics in Asia, including the 2020 Games in Tokyo. Terms of the deal were not announced, but Japanese media reported Toyota will pay $835 million. IOC President Thomas Bach was in Tokyo to sign the agreement with Toyota president Akio Toyoda.