Toyota has long been involved in motorsport, but by the 2000s, the company had been forced to axe many of their legendary sportscars to survive the harsher economic realities. But that gave the company a bit of an image problem, and so it embarked upon a massive exercise to reintroduce motorsport as the heart of its brand. Part of this big change came when the company decided to use “TOYOTA GAZOO Racing” as a global motorsport brand for the company. That change has most recently culminated in their European motorsport division officially changing their company name. The name has been changed from TOYOTA Motorsport GmbH (a.k.a TMG) to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe GmbH (a.k.a TGR-E).
This isn’t the first name change for the company. The company started off in 1979 as Andersson Motorsport GmbH in Cologne, Germany. In 1993, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota and got its TMG name change.
The 300+ staff at TGR-E have the following responsibilities:
- Comprehensive support for participation in World Endurance Championship
- engine supply for World Rally Championship
- production car development
Right now, they’re helping with the development of the GR Supra GT4.
Here’s the press release with more information.
PRESS RELEASE
Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced that its European research and development base, TOYOTA Motorsport GmbH (TMG), has changed its company name to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe GmbH (TGR-E).
TMG was initially established as Andersson Motorsport GmbH in Köln in 1979, then changed its name to TMG in 1993, when it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota.
In addition to the company’s engagement in motorsports activities, which it has been conducting since its establishment, in recent years, the company has expanded its work with the GAZOO Racing Company (GRC) by applying the expertise and experience it has cultivated in motorsports over the years to the development of GR series production cars. The change in the company name reflects its closer relationship with GRC.
Going forward, TGR-E will continue to serve as the hub for Toyota’s motorsports activities in Europe, working together with GRC from its base in Köln, Germany, and engage in activities including supplying engines for cars participating in both the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), and helping to develop the GR Supra GT4.
TGR-E will also utilize the knowledge and expertise it has accumulated through its motorsports activities over the years in the development of production cars, and so contributing to the creation of ever-better cars.
Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, commented on the name change
“The absolute mission of participating in motorsports, which is a battle of works produced by manufacturers, is winning. That is why TGR Europe must be a team of professionals that produces winning works. To continue winning, we have to do kaizen (continuous improvement) and making things better and better and better, no matter what the circumstances. Our team will continue to make ever-better cars here in Köln, Germany, to win.”
