The last man to bring a brand into Supercars gives Toyota’s decision the thumbs up.

Toyota Australia’s announcement that it will enter Supercars is about as big as motorsport news gets.

It’s a huge boost for the series. Toyota’s marketing and activation muscle is unrivalled Down Under. While it will certainly be good for Toyota, it will inevitably be great for Supercars as well. This red tide will raise all boats.

The last manufacturer to join Supercars was Volvo. Although its involvement was relatively short-lived, it was successful – both on and off the track. The architect of Volvo’s Supercars entry was Matt Braid, then CEO of Volvo Australia. Braid later went on to become the Managing Director of Supercars – a poacher turned gamekeeper of sorts.

He’s ideally placed to comment on the challenges and opportunities Toyota faces as it sprints toward the 2026 Supercars series, with Walkinshaw Andretti United as its homologation team.

I expected Braid to be the first call for many motorsport commentators. When he wasn’t, curiosity got the better of me. So, I picked up the phone.

“They’ve been the biggest target for a long time,” Braid said from his Sydney base.

“I saw Tony Cochrane say that the one thing he regrets is not being able to get Toyota. It was the same when I was at Supercars. James Warburton, John Casey, and I pushed pretty hard, but credit to the team now – they’ve scored the big one.”

Braid notes that Toyota’s vice president, Sean Hanley, is key to this decision. A lifelong Toyota and Lexus executive, Hanley has had Supercars in his sights for decades but played the long game. It’s only now that the stars have aligned. Make no mistake, however – without Hanley’s considerable influence within the company, the Supercars business case would likely never have progressed.

“It could only happen with Sean Hanley,” Braid agreed.

“He likes the sport, but it’s not just a love affair. He sees the benefit. He was behind the [Toyota 86 series], and the [Lexus] Safety Car… They dipped their toe in the water for a long time, getting everything right before putting the [successful] business case forward.”

“Getting the business case approved was probably the biggest hurdle… Now, keeping it relevant in their global sphere is key. It will be interesting to see how they manage that and maintain global support over the [pre-2026] period to achieve their goals…”

Braid knows all too well the complexity of modern automotive marketing. He masterminded Volvo’s Supercars entry and says the real work has just begun for Hanley and his Toyota team – both in the boardroom and the workshop.

“It’s scary that it’s been that long [since a new brand entered Supercars], but the Australian market is vitally important to Toyota. They’re in a different position than Volvo was at the time.

“Getting the business case approved was probably the biggest hurdle… Now, keeping it relevant in their global sphere is key. It will be interesting to see how they manage that and maintain global support over the [pre-2026] period to achieve their goals,” Braid said.

On the technical side, Braid praised Toyota’s decision to partner with the Walkinshaw Group. This partnership goes beyond the racetrack – they’re working together on the local left-to-right-hand drive conversion of Tundra full-size US-market pickups, a world-first for Toyota.

More Toyota USA products are expected to follow the Tundra’s late-2024 release.

Local expertise is essential, Braid asserts.

“We’ve seen it before where a big manufacturer wants to get involved. Often, they dive in and try to do it all themselves, and it doesn’t work.

“It’s critical to link with a local team that has deep knowledge of the series and solid engineering capabilities. We saw Mercedes-Benz attempt this through AMG – they thought, ‘We know engines and cars, we’ll do it our way,’ but it didn’t work out.

“But Ryan Walkinshaw and his team are the perfect partners. They understand the pressures and opportunities on the OEM side, and partnering with Toyota is a huge win for them,” Braid said.

Toyota joins Supercars as the clear number one auto brand in Australia. Braid says he’ll be watching closely to see how Toyota engages with the public over the next 12 months as it prepares for its on-track debut.

“They’ve already got a great platform to communicate this news and build on it. Getting the reach won’t be an issue – the interesting part will be the content they create to communicate [their participation].

“With Volvo, we didn’t quite have the same reach, which impacted the market [opportunity]. We had to work harder to get the news out and showcase the brand. Toyota already has a ready-made audience, so they can focus more on the content to rev it up.”

Braid also sees off-the-shelf assets that Toyota can leverage.

“They have the Gazoo Racing brand and blending that into Supercars will be fascinating to watch. They already have cars on the road that can support their efforts.

“Every manufacturer is looking for an edge – both for their brand and how they promote it. The racing side is one thing, but engaging with drivers’ personalities is another.

“‘Shoulder content’ has become critical in sports. Drive to Survive is the obvious example – there’s now huge demand for the peripheral stories around racing, and I think Toyota will be able to leverage that.”

Braid adds that the engagement of Toyota’s 270-strong dealer network around Australia will be another key element.

“It’s a galvanizing experience. At Volvo, we brought our dealer network along for the journey, explaining why we wanted to go racing. It was a big leap for us, but the dealers backed it 100 percent – even pushing for the Polestar blue road cars. They jumped on board quickly.”

He recalls how racing united typically competitive dealers:

“There’s nothing better than everyone coming together to back one team. After our first race event in Adelaide, every dealer was in the hotel restaurant, toasting each other, cracking champagne. One of the senior Volvo execs [from Sweden] said he’d never seen a group of dealers come together and celebrate like that.

“That’s the power of getting behind a sports team – especially a motorsport team. I think it’s a real benefit.”

Braid is confident in Toyota’s success and adamant that this is great news for Supercars.

“It couldn’t have come at a better time,” he said, referring to speculation about Toyota’s impact on television rights negotiations.

“Any addition like Toyota has to help. This move will keep the other Supercars manufacturers on their toes and might also prompt other brands to take another look.

“I can’t give enough credit to those involved. It’s a big win, and as someone who tried to get Toyota involved, it’s a huge coup.”