Hyundai is just a couple of months from beginning their vehicle test operations at the iconic Nürburgring, which will see them having a full time presence at the track extremely popular for racing and testing alike.
The €5.5 million test facility will provide the base for larger vehicle testing operations being purpose-built, with the project expected to be completed by August 2013.
Bearing a unique glass and metallic exterior finish, the 3,622 sq.m. facility has been designed to meet Hyundai’s specific needs and spans four storeys which house new workshops, office space, VIP hospitality area. This new centre will hugely benefit Hyundai enabling them to complete several more vehicle assessments each year, particularly their arduous ‘accelerated durability tests’, which cover up to 180,000 kms of severe driving in a matter of weeks and provide data on a number of vehicle performance parameters.
Allan Rushforth, Senior Vice President and COO of Hyundai Motor Europe, stated: “Quality is one of Hyundai’s core values and it is key to achieving customer satisfaction. The Nürburgring is the ultimate location to test vehicle durability, and we’re able to apply what we learn there to all of our vehicle development projects. Our new facility will increase our testing capacity, bringing direct benefits to our customers in terms of vehicle quality and performance.”
While the obvious benefactors from the results of testing at the Nürburgring will be sport-oriented models like the Veloster and Genesis Coupé, Hyundai’s European market will benefit owing to the wider range of vehicle in their portfolio. Hyundai India will also receive updated models as and when the company decides to rework any of them from their Indian portfolio. Their Veloster sports hatch was displayed at various dealerships around the country to garner feedback from prospective customers.
