Hyundai Motor to sponsor Winter Games
Top automaker provides vehicles, support for Korean bobsleigh team
Hyundai Motor is set to support the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games and Paralympics next year as an official tier-one sponsoring partner along with conglomerates Samsung, KT and Korean Air.
The nation’s largest carmaker said it will provide some 4,100 vehicles for the world’s largest winter sports event and the biggest festival for disabled athletes, while offering various kinds of financial support for both events. It also sponsors Korea’s national bobsleigh team.
“It is such an honor for Hyundai Motor Group to contribute to the winter festival for global citizens,” said Hyundai Motor President Chung Jin-haeng during a signing ceremony for the sponsorship in July 2015. “We will provide our best support to help the event be a success.”
Hyundai’s next-generation FCEV
Hyundai Motor started producing the Tucson fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) model in 2013, and the carmaker said it aims to showcase its leading technologies in FCEV during the event.
It will operate hydrogen fuel-cell buses to show its competitiveness in eco-friendly technologies.
Hyundai Motor came up with its first-generation hydrogen fuel cell buses midway through the 2000s, which the automaker provided for visitors to the German World Cup in 2006 and the G20 summit in Seoul in 2010. The model runs 400 kilometers after charging.
Hyundai Motor said the next-generation Hyundai Tucson FCEV also features smaller hydrogen tanks compared to existing models while generating better fuel efficiency. The model can reportedly travel 400 kilometers when fully charged.
In 2014, the U.S.-based auto magazine Ward’s Auto nominated its engine as one of Ward’s top 10 best engines, and Hyundai Motor said it will demonstrate its second-genera- tion hydrogen-powered model next year, which is expected to double the range to 800 kilometers.
Hyundai bobsleigh model
Separate from its sponsorship of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games and Paralympics, Hyundai Motor has supported Korea’s national bobsleigh team since September 2014.
Applying the carmaker’s technologies in aerodynamics, Hyundai Motor has developed a high-perfor- mance sled at its Namyang research and development center since 2015.
Hyundai Motor successfully completed and delivered its first bobsleigh model to the nation’s team in October last year. It said the new sled’s tailor-made chassis and body frame would help the team enhance cornering flexibility while minimizing air resistance, which will increase its maximum speed.
“The new bobsleigh not only features the carmaker’s leading technologies in aerodynamics but also considers the rider’s style to produce maximum performance during runs,” said a Hyundai Motor official. “Hyundai Motor will continuously support teams that are involved in what may be considered unpopular sports.”
The nation’s bobsleigh team officials expressed their gratitude at the delivery event.
“Hyundai Motor’s support has contributed greatly to our team’s performance,” said national team head coach Lee Yong. “The team will do our utmost to win a medal in the Olympics next year.”
The team has since participated in a number of the world’s bobsleigh tournaments with the new bobsleigh. Thanks to the new model, the team successfully landed as one of top 10 teams during the Bobsleigh World Cup while women’s team won the North American Tournament Cup this year.
Hyundai Motor said it will also help analyze the bobsleigh track for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to contribute to the team’s performance during the event.
Support for winter sports
The Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games and the nation’s bobsleigh team are not the first to be sponsored by the world’s fifth-largest carmaker.
Hyundai Motor Group has been an official sponsoring partner for the FIFA World Cup events for many years. It also previously sponsored the 2012 Yeosu Expo, the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju.
It became an official sponsor for the Federation International de Ski in 2012 to help organize a number of official events such as the Ski Jump World Cup, Ski Flying Championship and Nordic World Ski Championship.
Hyundai Motor’s sister brand Kia Motors has also helped the nation’s speed skaters since 2004. In 2010, it sponsored the nation’s star speed skaters Lee Seung-hoon, Mo Tae-bum and Lee Sang-hwa during the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.
The nation’s figure-skating legend Yuna Kim also benefited from Hyundai Motor’s sponsorship. The carmaker said it offered various kinds of support including providing vehicles during her training.