Toyota Launches $2,500 Kart to Expand Motorsports Fan Base

According to Jin10, Toyota has launched a kart priced at 385,000 yen, or about $2,500, to encourage potential Japanese racers to experience the fun of driving. Toyota said in a press release that the kart, called GRKart, belongs to its motorsports division Gazoo Racing and will go on sale from Thursday at kart tracks across Japan and at seven GR Garage stores. Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda is himself a racing enthusiast who competes under the pseudonym Morizo and has long lamented declining interest in cars among young people in Japan. Toyota said the kart is part of its effort to make motorsports as accessible as baseball or soccer, and it listed 36 kart tracks from Hokkaido to Okinawa that have joined the program, with plans to expand further.