JVCKENWOOD is pleased to announce that it will sponsor the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), the pinnacle of touring car (modified road-going cars) racing, as an Official Series Partner for the 2017 season.

■ Sponsorship of Motor Sport

Motor sport is a dramatic sports event that brings together the most advanced technologies of related companies, particularly the automobile manufacturers, testing them to the limits in intense competition.

Empathizing with this concept of creating excitement through the use of technology, JVCKENWOOD, based on its corporate vision of "Creating excitement and peace of mind for the people of the world,” is a proud sponsor of motor sport, while seeking the exposure and penetration of its brands.

■ Background to WTCC Sponsorship

The WTCC, which is governed by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), is the pinnacle of touring car racing. It is on a par with the Formula One World Championship (F1) and the World Rally Championship (WRC) in being able to use the title “World Championship.” Last year, approximately 1,434 hours of racing were broadcast in 108 countries, viewed by 483 million people, making it one of the most popular motor sports in the world.

JVCKENWOOD has expanded its operations globally, particularly in its key business sector of automotive products such as car navigation systems, car audio systems, and dashcams, and its ties to the automotive manufacturers, who participate in the races in modified road-going vehicles, give JVCKENWOOD a strong association with the WTCC. There is also a strong affinity between the WTCC and JVCKENWOOD’s other business domains, such as the radios used by drivers and crew to communicate with each other, and the professional video cameras used to film the races. It was for these reasons that JVCKENWOOD first began its sponsorship of the WTCC.

Beginning with the 2009 Japan round, which JVCKENWOOD sponsored as the Event Presenting Partner (title sponsor), the company has been an Official Series Partner, sponsoring the entire series each year, since 2013. The windscreens used in the races bear the JVCKENWOOD and KENWOOD logos in an effort to achieve exposure and penetration of the brands.

■ Overview of 2017 Sponsorship

As with past years, JVCKENWOOD will continue to be an Official Series Partner for the 2017 series, and will also be the Event Presenting Partner (title sponsor) for the Hungary Round in May, the Japan Round in October, and the Macao Round in November.

From this year, the JVC brand will join the KENWOOD brand on car windscreens, in the hope that this will contribute greatly to the branding and business development of JVCKENWOOD’s two key product brands.