Hyundai Motor Company Supports Summer Olympics

3,500 Hyundai Vehicles Will Transport Athletes, Officials, VIPs and Journalists

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 10 -- When the 28th Olympic Summer Games open in Athens Greece, the international spotlight will shine on the best athletes in the world and Hyundai Motor Company, through Hyundai Hellas, the company's distributor for Greece, will be supporting the world's best young athletes as Grand National Sponsor and official vehicle supplier.

Hyundai Hellas is supplying the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (ATHOC) with a fleet of Hyundai vehicles to meet the transportation requirements of the tens of thousands of athletes, VIPs, officials and journalists attending the games. Hyundai's most popular sedans and SUVs are represented in the official vehicle fleet that features more than 3,500 Hyundai vehicles. The sponsorship package is valued at $16.3 million Euros.

"There is no bigger stage in the world than the Olympics," said Hyundai Motor Company Vice Chairman and CEO Kim Dong-Jin. We are excited and honored to have this great opportunity to showcase our vehicles before such a large audience. Sports sponsorship is one of the most effective ways of creating a closer emotional bond with existing as well as prospective customers," he said.

Having served as a national sponsor of the 1988 Seoul Olympic games, Hyundai Motor Company is not a newcomer to the world of sponsoring high profile sporting events. As part of its brand building strategy, Hyundai sponsored UEFA's Euro2000 soccer championship as well as the FIFA Korea/Japan World Cup.

As part of its sponsorship activities Hyundai will offer free bus service to the public. Four traditional English double-decked open-top buses wrapped in Hyundai livery and with a live band on board will follow specific shuttle routes along Olympic roads and points of interest around Athens, generating an atmosphere of celebration and excitement.

In addition, Hyundai Land, located in the Water Plaza near the Esplanada, will offer Olympic visitors a fun atmosphere in which to enjoy live musical entertainment, engage in inter-active games and learn more about Hyundai products.

Two prototype Hyundai Santa Fe electric vehicles are being used in a series of athletic and cultural events run by ATHOC. The zero emission electric vehicles have an operating range of 160 km and can reach a top speed of 128 km/h. The zero emissions Santa Fe vehicles are powered by Panther 60 kW drive systems and Panasonic nickel metal hydride batteries that can be recharged in as little as one hour with the quick recharge cycle.