Tokyo Auto Salon, an annual festival for car lovers, returned again this year. Yet amid the fun and excitement, something strange was in the air around the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing booth...
[Round 1] The Parent-Child Quarrel – Team Morizo (GR) vs. Daihatsu
Round 1 was a kei truck duel with Daihatsu. The “midship two-seater” that Morizo mentioned turned out to be Daihatsu’s Hijet Truck. Squaring off against Morizo was Daihatsu stalwart Hiromasa Hoshika, the company’s Executive Vice President.
It seems Vice President Hoshika had been the one to open hostilities.
Executive Vice President Hoshika
Last year, Mobility Development Group Chief Officer Masahiro Tanaka and I went to speak with Morizo about Daihatsu’s carmaking.
On that day, Morizo asked, “What are the most important cars for Daihatsu?” and instinctively I replied, “kei trucks.”
Morizo said something like, “The midship model? I drive one too.”
We’ve been making kei trucks for 60 years and I wasn’t about to be beaten, so I said, “Well then, care for a head-to-head challenge?” That’s how it started.
Vice President Hoshika teamed up with Mobility Development Group Chief Officer Masahiro Tanaka, who leads Daihatsu’s technical efforts.
On the opposing side, Morizo called upon his go-to person for customizing his favorite rides: professional driver Masahiro Sasaki.
As many readers may be aware, Sasaki oversees GR Garage GROW Morioka in his home prefecture of Iwate, making the Morizo-Daihatsu matchup a battle between a local workshop and a major carmaker.
During the talk session, their comments suggested that the contest had spilled out beyond the ring:
“If push comes to shove, we won’t have to provide the engines and differential gears.
We’re on good terms with Suzuki, so we’ll ask them.”
Despite being extremely busy in the wake of certification issues, many Daihatsu genba employees were eager to take part in this showdown.
“An interesting project energizes everyone,” says Vice President Hoshika. “When the job is fun, you work hard. Our company culture is gradually shifting in that direction.”
These sentiments were echoed by Morizo: “I believe that doing something you love leads to great products. Creating an environment where people can do what they love is vital.”
With that, here are the cars customized by Masahiro Sasaki and Daihatsu.
Sasaki’s concept for his custom build was “play.” The fuel tank is mounted in a higher position, revealing mechanical components that are normally hidden. For the muffler, he went with the original parts that were left over after customizing Morizo’s beloved GR Corolla.
Sasaki also explained his choice of adding two rear seats, saying, “Morizo loves to put smiles on people’s faces. While regular kei trucks can only seat two, I wanted to let more people enjoy this car.”
Meanwhile, Daihatsu’s concept was “the all-rounder.” As Chief Officer Tanaka tells it, “kei trucks play a role in work, play, and support.”
The roof is removable, making it possible to, for example, drive through an orchard and pick fruit without getting out of the vehicle. In the rear is a storage box for shovels and other tools, with caterpillar tracks for traveling over rough terrain.
In low gear mode, the truck is designed to climb inclines of up to 45 degrees.
Morizo, who last October also took on the master driver role at Daihatsu, quietly admitted that he would love to drive both cars, adding, “These two vehicles demonstrate the potential of kei cars. This is the kei-car standard Japan can be proud of.”
To decide the winner, attendees cast votes during the event. You can find the result on Toyota Times News.
[Round 2] The Company Feud – Team Morizo (GR) vs. TOYOTA Racing
Round 2 was also announced on social media. While it’s hard to look past the AI-generated images of Morizo, Vice President Hiroki Nakajima, and President Koji Sato, we would also like to draw your attention to the logos at the top.
On January 7, TGR announced that it would change its name back to GAZOO Racing (GR), reflecting a return to its founding vision and the strengthening of its commitment to making ever-better cars and developing talent through motorsports.
On the same day, Toyota and TOYOTA RACING GmbH also issued a release stating that TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe GmbH (Cologne, Germany), a subsidiary and European R&D hub, had been renamed TOYOTA RACING GmbH.
The team that had been competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) as TOYOTA GAZOO Racing since 2016 will start the 2026 season as TOYOTA RACING (TR).
TOYOTA GAZOO ROOKIE Racing (TGRR), which launched in 2025, will collaborate with GR and TR by providing a platform for honing the products and technologies they develop on the racetrack, and nurturing personnel through hands-on experience.
The races each organization will compete in are outlined below. TR will contribute to engine and powertrain development through its participation in WEC and NASCAR.
Vice President Nakajima will serve as the chairman of TR. Taking the stage at the press conference, he issued a challenge to Morizo.
Chairman Nakajima
Listening to all this talk of “Morizo, Morizo,” plenty of people within the company want to follow Morizo in making great cars.
At the same time, there are also many engineers at Toyota who simply want to make great cars, without jumping on the Morizo bandwagon. I’m here to represent those guys.
So, I’ve come to declare playful war by parting ways with Morizo’s GR and launching TR.
TR has set its sights on conquering the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Following its first victory in 2018, TGR achieved five straight wins before slipping to second in 2023 and 2024; after placing sixth in 2025, the top has grown more distant.
“We are going to win this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota’s engineers alone, without any help from Morizo, and slam the trophy down right here in front of you,” vowed Chairman Nakajima.
During the talk session, the chairman’s peers, driver Kamui Kobayashi and Vice Chairman Kazuki Nakajima, were waiting in the wings. Despite being in the “enemy territory” of the GR booth, the trio made a show of team unity by dressing in matching TR-logo shirts.
Will we get to see them conquer Le Mans and slam down the trophy in front of Morizo?