Sporting prowess is something Australia is known for, and it’s this love of competition that auto brands have long attempted to latch onto.
For at least a century, carmakers have used sport to promote themselves to the Australian public, and these days you’re likely to find the badge of the car you drive on at least one team’s jersey.
The newest player in the game is BYD, having this week signed a five-year deal with the Sydney Roosters – as Ford enters its 100th year of backing the Geelong Cats.
While Toyota is the AFL’s major sponsor and Kia is a major partner of NRL, these are the active automotive sponsors of Australia’s biggest sporting teams.
NRL
Brisbane Broncos – Kia
Since 2020, the Brisbane Broncos have appeared in one NRL grand final with the Kia logo on their chest, while a number of the team’s players appeared in the Kia Tasman ute teaser campaign.
Melbourne Storm – Suzuki
Suzuki has been one of the Melbourne Storm’s biggest sponsors since 2008, with the club winning three NRL premierships in that time (if you don’t count the salary cap stripped 2009 season).
North Queensland Cowboys – Toyota
Few brands have as much synergy with the teams they sponsor than Toyota and the Cowboys, backing the team based in HiLux and LandCruiser country since 2003, and appearing on the jersey in the Johnathan Thurston-led squad’s 2015 premiership win.
South Sydney Rabbitohs – MG
While MG is only a recent sponsor of the South Sydney Rabbitohs – having joined the green and red army in 2022 – it is backing the most storied team in the history of the NRL, with the Bunnies sitting on 21 premiership victories.
Sydney Roosters – BYD
BYD’s announcement that it’ll sponsor the Roosters from 2025 to 2029 comes as little surprise given the links between club chairman Nick Politis and his Eagers dealer group, which helps distribute the brand.
AFL
Adelaide Crows – Toyota
Despite being based in an area which was long the domain of Holden – its factory was located in the northern Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth – the Crows have been backed by Toyota since 1991. That makes it one of the longest-lasting sponsorships in the league, but nowhere near the longest.
Brisbane Lions – Hyundai
Hyundai has played the long game when it comes to sponsoring the Lions, making its first appearance as a club partner in 2008 but not tasting premiership glory until 2024, when Brisbane defeated the Volkswagen-backed Swans in a non-Victorian grand final.
Carlton Blues – Hyundai
In a rarity for Australian sport, Hyundai sponsors multiple clubs in the AFL, also partnering with Carlton in a relationship that netted a premiership in their first year together in 1995.
Geelong Cats – Ford
There are few mortal things older than Ford’s sponsorship of the Geelong Cats, stretching back 100 seasons to 1925 when the first Model Ts rolled down the town’s production line. In that time, they’ve won 10 premierships together and seen the rise and fall of local car manufacturing.
Hawthorn Hawks – Nissan
Nissan was a relatively late partner for Hawthorn, appearing as a team sponsor since the 2019 season – just a handful of years after the Hawks’ three-peat from 2013 to 2015.
North Melbourne Kangaroos – Mazda
Mazda enjoyed the highs of team sponsorship in its first year with the Kangaroos, as North Melbourne won the 1999 premiership. It’s yet to hoist the trophy at season’s end again though, and the 2025 season will be – at this time – the last for the current sponsorship contract.
Port Adelaide Power – MG
Also entering its final year next season is the partnership between Port Adelaide and MG, where the Power will be looking to go one better than 2024 and make the grand final. In the nine showdown appearances between the Toyota-backed Crows and MG-sponsored Power, Port Adelaide has won five games.
St Kilda Saints – Chery
Despite being the AFL club with the longest active premiership drought, St Kilda was one of the newest adopters of an automotive partnership. It inked a deal with Chery to sponsor the club for 2024, coinciding with the brand’s ramp-up of models in Australia.
Sydney Swans – Volkswagen
Since 2011, Volkswagen has sponsored just one AFL premiership-winning team, backing the Swans to their 2012 grand final win. Sydney has since made the big dance four times, and next season it’ll look to reach its third grand final in three seasons with the VW logo on its guernseys.
Others
Football Australia – Cupra
Cupra didn’t delay sponsorships when it arrived in Australia in 2022, almost immediately partnering with Football Australia to back the Socceroos and Matildas. While the brand wasn’t on the Tillies’ jerseys for their 2023 World Cup campaign, it remains prominent around stadiums during local soccer matches.
A-League Men – Isuzu Ute
While Hyundai ended its 15-year sponsorship of Football Federation Australia and the A-League in 2020, these days Isuzu Ute Australia is the naming rights sponsor of the male half of the nation’s premier soccer league.
Melbourne City – Nissan
Melbourne City’s alignment with Manchester City in 2014 brought with it Nissan as a sponsor, with the partnership ongoing to this day, having netted an A-League Men title in the 2021-22 season.
Cricket Australia – Toyota
While Toyota has been a supporter of Cricket Australia for more than a decade, it had to wait until the summer of 2023/2024 to find its logos on the front of the national team’s shirts.
Netball Australia – Nissan
Recent criticism of Netball Australia’s sponsorship rejections has taken the attention off its long-standing connection with Nissan, after the car brand signed on to sponsor both the sporting body and Super Netball championships in 2017.
Australian Open – Kia
Kia has enjoyed nearly a quarter of a century on the nets at the Australian Open, with the brand prominent throughout the rise of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Ash Barty and Dylan Alcott.
