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Hyundai Motor Company marked its steady climb in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2021 Rankings, placing 35thoverall, up one notch from 2020. According to Interbrand’s comprehensive assessment, Hyundai Motor’s global brand value rose 6.3% year-on-year to $15.2 billion in 2021, its seventh straight year among the top 30-something brands.
Interbrand’s positive appraisal of Hyundai Motor is based on the company’s eco-friendly, future-oriented focus on electrification and smart mobility solutions, commitment to carbon neutrality by 2045 and creation of non-face-to-face sales channels as a preventive measure against COVID-19.
Since its previous Interbrand evaluation, Hyundai Motor has doubled down on vehicle electrification by spearheading development of a hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicle ecosystem in China and Europe, supported by Hyundai Motor Group’s new HTWO fuel cell technology brand.
Hyundai Motor also launched its Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) and new IONIQ dedicated battery electric vehicle (BEV) brand. German automobile magazine Autozeitung ranked it at the top of its comparative evaluation of compact crossover EVs, beating models from top German brands.
Hyundai Motor also launched a smart city construction project in which to demonstrate future smart mobility devices and services. This human-centered, nature-friendly enclave aims to use Hyundai’s Urban Air Mobility (UAM), robotics and autonomous EVs to address urbanization issues such congestion and pollution. By 2028, Hyundai Motor plans to have a fully electric UAM model optimized for urban operation and foresees day-to-day use of air taxis by the 2030s.
These electrification and smart mobility plans are bolstered by Hyundai Motor’s recent declaration at IAA Mobility 2021 in Germany that it will achieve net-zero carbon emissions throughout all stages from automobile production to operation and disposal by 2045. Hyundai’s holistic approach focuses on three pillars: clean mobility, next-generation platforms and green energy.
More urgently came Hyundai Motor’s proactive response to market challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as expanding its ‘Click to Buy’ non-face-to-face sales channel to the U.S., Europe, India and other regions last year, facilitating contactless sales through Hyundai Showroom Live, and revealing new vehicle models online to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
This year, Hyundai Motor’s efforts to bolster brand capabilities have earned it awards in 17 categories, such as ‘Interface & User Experience Design,’ at Red Dot 2021, a world-class design award, which also serves to boost brand value.