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VW planning to push Hyundai for World Cup eyeballs

Adidas was an official sponsor of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but the German sportswear company got drowned out of early advertising buzz by Nike, which wasn't a World Cup sponsor. The American company's Write the Future ad put it at the top of Nielsen's study of online buzz, ahead of Adidas. The same thing happened to official World Cup sponsor Budweiser when it got drummed out of the top ten in Nielsen's buzz ratings, while Danish brewer Carlsberg - not a Cup sponsor - ranked sixth.
Volkswagen hopes to score the same goal on Hyundai during this year's World Cup in Brazil. Hyundai and Kia have been official sponsors of the global soccer federation FIFA since 2002 and are official sponsors of the World Cup through 2022. VW has "a major ad buy" planned to run on ABC, ESPN and Univision as well as digital and social media channels during the competition, which begins June 12, to promote the GTI. VW of America's VP of marketing said the Cup's attraction to young males and Hispanics makes it the perfect place to promote the hot hatch.
The sparring between Hyundai and VW has already begun. Volkswagen's Gol compact, named for the Portuguese word for a soccer goal, has been the best selling car in Brazil for 27 years, and the German company sponsors the national soccer team. When Hyundai Brazil began a promotional campaign promising to extend its five-year warranty for six if the Brazilians won a sixth world cup, Volkswagen of Brazil complained to the soccer federation, which asked Hyundai to pull the campaign. As of this writing, that hasn't happened, so we expect it'll be boots on, gloves off, on and off the pitch this summer.

Hyundai’s N division will tune electrics, steer clear of Genesis

At Hyundai's Namyang proving ground in a small garage emblazoned with a giant "N," Albert Biermann, the ex-BMW engineer who now heads up vehicle development for the Korean brand, recently provided a few hints about what to expect from Hyundai's nascent performance sub-brand — and that includes EVs. "We are looking for the right ideas of how to transfer the craziness of N into electrification," he said. That could be "a full EV [and] also could be a hybrid." To date, we've seen the Veloster N introduced last fall in the United States, followed by the recently announced Elantra GT N Line. Europe has the i30 N in hatchback and fastback body styles. Biermann says, "We will expand also into segments we are not in now," including "something a little bit smaller," as well as into "a different type of vehicle." Biermann also said we can expect a more powerful version of the new 2020 Hyundai Sonata — which we've just reviewed, and which will launch in the United States with a 180-hp 1.6-liter turbo and a 191-hp 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four. But he stopped short of saying whether it would be an N or an N Line model. And it appears that the N expansion will not extend to Genesis. "There are no plans yet to make a sub-label for Genesis like we did with N for Hyundai," Biermann said. This despite the fact that nearly all of its rivals have branched out in that direction. For now, it seems, the G70 Sport is as sporty as it will get over at Genesis.

Europe to get next Hyundai Genesis

Hyundai is preparing to make a rather bold move with its Genesis, as reports are now stating that the next-generation rear-drive sedan, which we showed you earlier this week, will be sold in Europe. The first-generation of the Genesis sedan never crossed the pond.
The 2015 Genesis will enter the traditional stomping grounds of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi armed with the same 3.8-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 found in the current model. All-wheel drive, a first for the model, will also be available in Europe. "We have to overcome the challenge of competing with established European brands. We expect the Genesis to play a crucial role in improving our brand recognition," Hyundai said in a statement.
Hyundai has done a fair job of changing its image in the US from a budget-minded brand into a legitimate, mainstream competitor that covers a broad swath of the American market, offering cars from the $14,545 Accent to the $61,000 Equus. That movement started in earnest with the Genesis, and it looks like Hyundai is determined to repeat that models success in Europe.