Hyundai Motor unveils its new home of motorsport
13 June 2013- Hyundai Motorsport GmbH has today inaugurated its new headquarters in Alzenau, Germany. Representatives of Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Motorsport GmbH participated in the ceremony, welcoming guests for a first glimpse of the new facility. Visitors from Hyundai Motor Headquarters in Korea and from subsidiaries around the world along with local authorities, stakeholders and partners were given a comprehensive tour of the building where the team is preparing for Hyundai’s return to the FIA World Rally Championship in 2014.
The company was officially registered on 19 December 2012 and started full operation at the beginning of 2013, now employing 50 WRC specialists from 11 nations.
The Hyundai Motorsport facility, which underlines Hyundai Motor’s commitment to Europe, is ideally located in Alzenau which benefits from the transportation links of the Frankfurt Rhine Main region. The 8.200 m² building is within a 50km radius of the Hyundai European Technical and Design Centre at Russelsheim and Hyundai Motor Europe in Offenbach. Later this year the Hyundai Motor vehicle test centre at the Nürburgring will also be opening close by.
Executive Vice President & COO of Hyundai Motor Company Tak Uk Im said: “This is a historic day for Hyundai Motor Company. Not only are we celebrating the opening of the new home of Hyundai Motorsport, but also demonstrating our commitment to improving the performance of all of our cars.”
Hyundai Motorsport President Gyoo-Heon Choi commented: “I’m very proud to officially open Hyundai’s new home of motorsport. Hyundai Motorsport acts as a performance engineering platform for the global business as well as a brand platform, helping to raise expectations and perceptions of the brand in a relevant and exciting way.”
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Michel Nandan commented: “Today marks another important step forward in our thrilling task of developing a motorsport team from scratch as we inaugurate our headquarters. We have a challenge ahead of us and we have the perfect facility here to prepare for it.”
About Hyundai Motor
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Co. has grown into the Hyundai Motor Group, with more than two dozen auto-related subsidiaries and affiliates. Hyundai Motor - which has seven manufacturing bases outside of South Korea including Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, India, Russia, Turkey and the U.S. - sold 4.4 million vehicles globally in 2012. Hyundai Motor, which employs over 90,000 worldwide, offers a full line-up of products including small to large passenger vehicles, SUVs and commercial vehicles.
About Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Established on 19 December 2012, Hyundai Motorsport GmbH is responsible for Hyundai’s global motorsport activities and primarily for its recently announced World Rally Championship programme. Based in Alzenau on the outskirts of Frankfurt in Germany, the company is in the process of establishing Hyundai’s return to WRC with a bespoke team of skilled staff developing a WRC-specification i20.
