UEFA EURO 2008 Starts Rolling with Hyundai Vehicles
Delivery of 265 Hyundai passenger cars and vans for official transport of teams, officials and VIP’s during next month’s Austria - Switzerland UEFA EURO 2008™
(May 28, 2008: Hinwil, Switzerland) — Hyundai Motor Company today officially kicked off its UEFA EURO 2008™ sponsorship activities delivering a fleet of 265 vehicles and 463 bus - days to the UEFA EURO 2008™ , which will be held in Austria and Switzerland from June 7th to 29th.
Symbolically handing over an oversized car key to UEFA Commercial Director Philippe Margraff and EURO 2008™ SA COO Martin Kallen, Hyundai Motor Europe President K. H. Ahn expressed to see Hyundai moving into higher gear with its sponsorship activities: “Hyundai is proud to be partner for the third time with the European Football Championship. The opportunity to provide VIP transport at this year’s Championship gives us highest visibility we need in Europe to build a wider awareness for our brand and products.”
“Football is a universally understood language and a powerful unifying force that can pull people of all nationalities, races and creeds together. This coincides with Hyundai’s values and vision,” emphasized President Ahn.
Taking pride of place in the fleet will be Hyundai’s top of the range sedan “Grandeur” which will serve as the flagship of the UEFA EURO 2008™: A total of 39 Grandeurs will be used to transport VIP’s and dignitaries. As the official automotive partner of Europe’s greatest sporting event, Hyundai will also supply Sonata sedans (8 units), Santa Fe SUVs (12 units), Tucson SUVs (2 units), i30CW (70 units) and H-1 vans (134 units).
In addition to the fleet, Hyundai will provide buses, including national team buses. The national team buses will be branded with the Hyundai logo and decorated with national team colours and supportive slogans from fans. Hyundai will also provide drivers and technical support for the duration of the event.
Hyundai has already demonstrated itself to be a reliable and effective partner of UEFA having served as the official automotive supplier for the European Football Championship 2000 and 2004. The events and accompanying customer-focused programs were hugely successful and placed Hyundai in the hearts of millions of fans around the world.
Hyundai Motor Company is one of the strongest supporters of football in the world having served as the official sponsor of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea / Japan™ and the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ as well as many other FIFA tournaments, The company has extended its strategic sponsorship agreement with FIFA to cover the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Hyundai Motor Company has not only infused a new sense of fun and excitement into the game, but through its sponsorship of international football it has also achieved significant increases in brand awareness and improvements in the brand image. Football has helped Hyundai secure a firm foundation that will enable it to push its sports marketing strategy forward to gain a better foothold in markets where football reigns as the most popular sport, especially Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
For further information on the UEFA EURO 2008™, visit Hyundai’s European Football Championship micro site: http://euro2008.hyundai-motor.com.
Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Co. has grown into the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group which was ranked as the world’s sixth largest automaker in 2006 and includes over 30 auto-related subsidiaries and affiliates. Employing over 75,000 people worldwide, Hyundai Motor posted sales of US$74.9 billion in 2007 on a consolidated-basis and US$32.8 billion on a non-consolidated basis (using the average currency exchange of 929 won per US dollar). Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 6,000 dealerships and showrooms. Further information about Hyundai Motor Co. and its products is available at http://www.hyundai-motor.com/
| 
