Hyundai will be using the 2002 World Cup to promote its brand worldwide and has brought in Dutch soccer legend Johan Cruyff to say nice things about its cars.
Football legend Johan Cruyff will promote Hyundai’s role as an official partner for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan.
Cruyff, who was a key figure in the golden age of Dutch football during the 1970s, is Hyundai’s soccer ambassador. The Korean manufacturer will use him in promotional messages and activities to highlight the company’s involvement with the World Cup.
It is also believed he will make several appearances around the world for Hyundai at major motor shows and press conferences in the run-up to the soccer events.
The company hopes its involvement with the World Cup and Cruyff will boost its image and result in a surge of sales.
Meanwhile, Hyundai is considering building a factory in the United States as its share of the US market increases.
In the first nine months of the year, Hyundai exported about 260 000 cars to America. South Korea exported more than 550 000 cars to the US last year.
Kim Dong-Jin, president of Hyundai Motor, met US politicians last week to discuss the plan. Hyundai is considering sites in Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The plant, which could cost about R9 billion to construct, would the first factory in the US by a Korean car manufacturer.
Chung Mong-Koo, Hyundai’s chairman, said last year that the company would build a factory in the US when sales there reached 500 000 vehicles. It is expected that the company will reach this figure within the next five years.
Having a plant in the United States would cut down on the company’s costs. “Without having to pay export costs, import tariffs and insurance, you can save eight to nine per cent of the sale price,” an analyst explained.
Hyundai had a plant in Canada in the 1980s, but closed it in 1991 after quality problems.
The meeting will also allow Hyundai to ease concerns about US car manufacturers’ complaints that it is difficult to penetrate the Korean market. While Hyundai is going from strength to strength in the US, American and European manufacturers only made up less than 0,4 per cent of Korean car sales.
,p>”We are hoping these meetings will help us calm any anxieties,” Hyundai said.
