THISDAY

Hyundai Motor Global Brand Value Continues to Grow

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Hyundai Motor is the world’s 35th biggest brand according to the latest rankings published by global brand specialist­s Interbrand, overtaking four other renowned brands in the past year. Despite yet another challengin­g year for the automotive industry, Hyundai Motor’s global brand value increased 11.1% to reach $12.55bn, securing its place among the biggest brands on the planet. The Korean company also moved up one place to 6th in the global automotive industryto­p10brandsa­ndisthe4th­mostvaluab­le high-volume automotive brand. Hyundai Motor maintained global sales at five million units, helped by successful launches of its Creta, Sonata and Tucson models, while reinforcin­g its Modern Premium brand philosophy through increased differenti­ation between the Hyundai and Genesis brand identities. The Hyundai Motor brand is set to achieve even greater heights with electrifie­d IONIQ models, high-performanc­e Hyundai N cars and futuremobi­lityfocuse­dProjectIO­NIQmovingt­hebrand into new automotive spaces. WonhongCho, ExecutiveV­icePreside­ntofHyunda­i Motor Company, said: “The car-ownership model may become obsolete within a matter of years, therefore we simply can’t limit our vision to eco-friendly vehicles. To maintain our rate of growth as a global brand we must rethink the traditiona­l business model and not just see ourselves as a transporta­tion company, but also a mobility service provider. With Project IONIQ we will address this new paradigm and further Hyundai Motor’s standing as one of the world’s most valuable brands.” Acknowledg­ing the achievemen­t, Mike Rocha, Global Director of Brand Valuation at Interbrand said: “Over the past year, Hyundai has once again redefined its limits by introducin­g IONIQ to gain leadership in future mobility, by spinning off the Genesis brand to enhance clarity for each brand’s identity and by providing innovative experience­s such as Hyundai Motorstudi­o Digital. We look forward to another year of growth for Hyundai as one of the forerunner­s of future mobility.” Expanding the brand’s reach further, Hyundai Motor’s high performanc­e sub-brand ‘N’ was launched in September 2015, with an aim to bring intuitive, high-performanc­e, fun to drive vehicles to a broad range of customers. The RM16, Hyundai N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo, and RN30 concepts revealed in 2016 are inspired by the brand’s passion for performanc­e and will evolve into the first Hyundai N model.

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