Hyundai 2003 Annual Report Download - page 16

Hyundai Motor Company Annual Report 2003 _3029_ Hyundai Motor Company Annual Report 2003
Sports Marketing
Football
In 1999, Hyundai Motor took its first step on the
road to prominence on the international sports
stage by entering into an agreement with UEFA
to sponsor EURO 2000TM. Since then Hyundai
has continued its support of football at all levels
of the game.
In 2003 Hyundai renewed its partnership with
UEFA and became the official Automotive
Partner of UEFA EURO 2004TM.
Once again, Hyundai Motor will provide official
cars for smooth, efficient ground transportation
and logistics. The fleet of official cars and buses
will be mainly used by the teams, referees,
media representatives, UEFA delegations as
well as members of the EURO 2004TM
Organizing Committee.
Hyundai will also serve as an Official Partner of
the 2006 FIFA World CupTM Germany and will
be involved in 10 FIFA tournaments leading up
to the main event. Hyundai will fulfill a similar
role by providing ground transportation services
with its fleet of vehicles.
Athens 2004
Hyundai Motor, as a Grand National Sponsor,
bestowed Santa Fe Electric Vehicle (EV) and
all-aluminum body Getz to the representatives
of the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee for
the Olympic Games (ATHOC) in June 2003.
Santa Fe EV will be the torchbearer and lead
car at the marathon race in the 2004 Athens
Olympic Games. Hyundai Motor believes this
opportunity can showcase our determination for
environmental protection and sustainable
development.
Rally
In 2003 Hyundai charted a new roadmap for
motorsport. A mid- and long-term motorsport
development program has been put in place
that will see an extensive reorganization and
strengthening of its commitment to the World
Rally Championship. Hyundai will pull out of the
2004 and 2005 seasons to concentrate on the
development of an all-new Theta engine and
new 3-door hatchback codenamed RC in
preparation for a comeback in the 2006 season.
Hyundai sees the World Rally Championship as
an important part of its plan to attain GT-5
status. Motorsport had proved to be an effective
marketing, but Hyundai is longer satisfied with
simply competing. Winning on the track is vital
for the company to expand its product portfolio
to include performance cars and to grow the
Hyundai brand. As part of the reorganization,
the company will establish a new World Rally
Team Headquarters at the Design and Technical
Center in Russelsheim, Germany and will begin
aggressive recruitment of top talent to fortify the
team’s engineering and racing capabilities.
A new executive will be appointed to oversee
the overhaul of the motorsport program.
Hyundai has already begun recruiting new staff
with the aim of attracting top development
engineers to its new team headquarters in
Russelsheim.
Hyundai’s rally support team, currently based at
the Namyang R&D Center in Korea, will also
relocate to Russelsheim as part of the effort to
integrate all motorsport development activities
in-house. The new team headquarters in
Germany will avail itself of Europe’s excellent
motorsport infrastructure and will provide a solid
base to reposition Hyundai as a top competitor.
In 2003 Hyundai renewed its partnership with
FIFA and became the official Automotive Partner
of 2006 FIFA World CupTM Germany.
Since then Hyundai has continued its support of
football at all levels of the game.