The world’s biggest seller of motor vehicles – Japanese brand Toyota – has revealed a new logo design, the first update since 2009.
In what can only be described as a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment, the new logo doesn’t veer too far away from the old one.
The updated version is now black on white and vice versa and replaces the old monochrome colour palette. Plus, the brand’s following the latest trend by ditching the word Toyota altogether.
Check out the new and the old logo below:
The new look
The old logo with Toyota tag
The company believes the new logo is so strong as a stand-alone, it will even remove the word Toyota from its advertising; however, dealership signage will remain in place and be reviewed in the firm’s 2025 Network Strategy.
According to the Global Advertising Ranking Report, Toyota is the world’s 13th biggest advertiser and spent a reported $US1.14 billion in advertising globally in 2018.
Last year, it shifted some 10.74 million of its vehicles worldwide
The rejigged logo is the work of London based agency The&Partnership with its head of art, Dan Beckett, describing the new look as “bringing the brand identity up to date, but preparing it for years to come”.
While the basic logo design remains the same, with the three signature loops intersecting to create the T, the new logo is a 2D flat design, to help its transition across digital platforms.
It follows a similar move by Volkswagen back in August last year who also unveiled a 2D logo it described as younger and more “internet friendly”.
Toyota’s Tokyo head office has also announced plans to roll out a new corporate look later this year.
The carmarker said it made the logo change as it “transitions from a car company to a mobility company”, and includes a new logo and typography.
Commenting on the new logo, Didier Gambert, Toyota Motor Europe vice president sales, marketing and customer experience, said: “We developed the new brand visual design with ‘tomorrow’ in mind. Our focus was on enabling ever-better customer connections, allowing them to keep pace with Toyota’s rapid expansion of electrified vehicles, mobility services and online retailing.
“The design was re-purposed to better connect with customers across diverse touchpoints. They can experience it for the first time with the launch of the new Yaris Hybrid, the all-new fourth generation of our innovative city car.”
