• by Tanya Gazdik , June 2, 2025

Honda is taking on the role of founding partner of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

The automaker, which is also the official automotive partner of Team USA, will work closely with LA28 to deliver an accessible vehicle fleet for the Olympic and Paralympic Games using a wide range of mobility products.

"Honda is the 'perfect partner' for LA28 because of the vast array of different vehicles it builds, as well as the fact its U.S. headquarters are right there in Southern California (and have been since 1959) and Honda's strong manufacturing presence throughout the country," Honda's Phil Hruska tells Jalopnik.

“LA28 announced Honda its automotive partner for the L.A. Olympics on Monday, securing a major founding-level partnership that will help the private organizing committee cover its estimated $7 billion budget,” according to the Los Angeles Times. “Honda joins Delta and Comcast as LA28’s founding partners expected to lead the way in covering the estimated $2.5 billion in corporate sponsorship needed to stage the first Summer Games held in the United States since 1996.”

The deal was announced during a celebration at the American Honda headquarters in Torrance, California. 

The Olympics embody perseverance, self-belief, the spirit of competition and the pursuit of excellence, says Kazuhiro Takizawa, president and CEO of American Honda Motor Co. Those qualities align with the longtime Honda global brand slogan “The Power of Dreams – how we move you,” he says.

Honda and NBCUniversal will expand the partnership to include a multiplatform media collaboration with NBCUniversal, spotlighting Honda across coverage of both Milano Cortina 2026 and the LA28 Games.

Honda replaces Toyota, which announced in September it would not renew its 10-year contract as a top sponsor for the Olympics and Paralympics following the Paris Games, according to Reuters. Toyota has said it will continue to financially support athletes.

Toyota became the first automaker in the world to sign a top-tier sponsor contract, and the deal was worth more than ¥100 billion ($690 million) in total, Kyodo News reported last year, citing sources it didn’t identify.

"Toyota had found itself caught in the middle of strong public opposition to the Tokyo Olympics, initially set to be held in 2020 but delayed to 2021 due to COVID," according to Bloomberg. "The carmaker pulled its television advertisements during the Games and Chairman Akio Toyoda skipped the opening ceremony amid concerns about holding the event during the global health crisis."