Hyundai Motor earns two awards for innovations from CAM
Kona Electric, NEXO identified as important innovation drivers
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 21: Hyundai Motor Company has been recognized with two major awards for the future-oriented direction of its drive technologies, both presented at a ceremony in Germany. The award for ‘Most Innovative Volume Brand’ and the award for ‘Most Innovative Volume Brand – Alternative Drives’ were handed over at the 2019 Automotive Innovations Awards by the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Jürgen Keller, Managing Director of Hyundai Motor Germany, who accepted the award, said: “Hyundai has been committed to sustainability for a long time. The company’s words were followed by deeds that resulted in numerous innovations. Hyundai is currently the only manufacturer in the world to offer all major alternative drive forms in its series production: full-electric, hybrid, 48-volt mild hybrid, plug-in
hybrid, and fuel cell.”
In the ‘Most Innovative Volume Brand’ category, Hyundai Motor Company received a total of 43 index points above the closest competitors, thanks to its innovations in alternative drive systems. The jury’s statement said: “One of the reasons for this is the particularly high proportion of innovations (almost 18 percent) that can be attributed to alternative drive systems.”
These innovations include the Hyundai Kona Electric, the most wide-ranging battery electric vehicle in the small SUV segment.
The jury also considered the Hyundai NEXO to be a very important innovation, saying: “In addition to its fuel cell drive, it features a Blind Spot View Monitor, the Highway Driving Assist function and the Remote Parking function, which, for the first time in this segment, enables a vehicle to be parked fully automatically.”
Hyundai Kona Electric and NEXO also played a decisive role in earning the nod for ‘Most Innovative Volume Brand – Alternative Drives’ award. With the new NEXO, Hyundai is already offering the second-generation Fuel Cell vehicle after the 2013-released ix35 Fuel Cell, which is the world’s first series-produced fuel cell vehicle.
The range of 666 kilometers (according to WLTP standard) also played a significant role, making the NEXO the ideal alternative drive option for long distances.
The German awards were based on a study among car manufacturers and suppliers, and on the database of CAM, an independent scientific institute for empirical automotive and mobility research in Bergisch Gladbach, headed by well-known car expert Prof Dr Stefan Bratzel. The most outstanding innovations of the year within the automotive industry were determined based on this data.