Hyundai has announced that it will be providing vehicles to the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
What's the G20 summit?
It's a meeting of the 20 the biggest nations, and the African Union, and includes the liked of the US, UK, Canada, South Africa, South Korea, and India. The main subject up for discussion at this year's summit is disaster preparedness, while the over-arching 'theme' of the conference is 'Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability'.
Why is it important that Hyundai is providing vehicles?
It's a big feather in Hyundai's corporate cap to be picked as a vehicle provider, as it shows the global important of the company, and it's good publicity too - remember the fleets of Audis that shuttled dignitaries around Dublin when we had the EU presidency that time?
What cars is Hyundai providing?
Hyundai is providing 30 of its Staria vans, in MPV form, which Hyundai says it selected "for the summit's fleet based on its future-forward exterior design, expansive sense of interior openness, highly reconfigurable cabin adaptable to diverse needs, and advanced safety and convenience features.”
"It is deeply meaningful for us to support the first-ever G20 Summit held in Africa with our vehicles,” said Ilbum Kim, Executive Vice President and the Head of the Global Policy Office at Hyundai Motor Group. "We will do our utmost to contribute to the success of this influential and significant event.”
Anything else we should know?
Only that the G20 was formed as a conference in 2008, as a response to the global financial crisis that began to unfold that year. Since then, the G20 has been "addressing a range of international issues, including those in the economic sphere” Johannesburg marks the first time that the G20 summit has been held on the African continent. A global event, held in Africa, and with vehicles from South Korea. That's quite the international spread, eh?