Paving the way
for a sustainable future.
4 minute read
When the signs that Mother Nature sends us have become all too obvious, the time has come for brands to rise up to the challenge and take action. With the introduction of IONIQ, Hyundai’s full-electric lineup, Hyundai Motor remains steadfast in its vision of a clean mobility landscape where progress keeps people and communities at heart. In a new documentary film developed in collaboration with CNN, the Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group Euisun Chung and a sustainable explorer David de Rothschild call for a collective awakening.
From reflection to action
In a context still affected by COVID-19 and uncertainty about what the short-term future holds, research companies have found that a growing number of consumers perceive the environmental question as an ever-pressing matter. And who else - besides political entities and environmental organizations – is in the frontline? Brands.
Faithful to its vision of Progress for Humanity, Hyundai Motor announced earlier this year its intention to push the boundaries of mobility as we know it. From that global vision emerged a vast array of ideas and initiatives that Hyundai Motor aims to realize, such as the establishment of a hydrogen society, the development of new air and ground mobility devices for urban areas, or even robotics, all of which serve a common purpose - to accelerate the transition towards clean and sustainable mobility.
The recent introduction of the IONIQ electric lineup is the brand’s latest effort to make yet another tangible outcome out of this vision. Only now, the time has come to spread the message and raise awareness across the globe.
To do so, Hyundai Motor and world-renowned media CNN decided to join forces and develop a documentary film where Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of the Hyundai Motor Group and sustainable explorer David de Rothschild share views on the necessity to act in the face of climate change.
The planet is changing. We cannot ignore these warning signs that nature is giving us. We have to reflect, but we also have to act.
DAVID DE ROTHSCHILD
Adventurer, Ecologist, and Environmentalist
Joining forces for clean mobility
The collaboration between Hyundai and David de Rothschild started in 2016 upon the realization that both shared the same drive for positive change and a common desire to seek more sustainable ways to move. Ever since, David has continued to encourage and inspire communities to live more sustainably, while Hyundai has strived to expand its zero-emission lineup.
In the film, which is set to air globally starting October 17, we follow David as he journeys through various landscapes with curiosity and exploration in mind. Lucid in the face of multiple indications that our environment requires our attention, David calls for reason, self-reflection, and immediate action. Looking at new sustainable materials and alluding to ways these could be used within a more organic mobility realm, he announces that some of these materials will actually make their way into the upcoming IONIQ models.
Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung joins David in his quest and sheds light on ways Hyundai will help build a more sustainable mobility landscape despite the obvious strategic decisions and major reassessment it implies. The road ahead is paved with both uncertainty and possibility, but Hyundai is more than ever determined to take on the challenge head-on.
It’s a very big challenge to reorganize a business model that is fundamentally very different. But it’s one that we at Hyundai have started working towards.
EUISUN CHUNG
Executive Chair, Hyundai Motor Group
Making vision tangible
With the establishment of a hydrogen society as a focal point and the introduction of its first all-electric lineup, Hyundai is slowly but surely sowing the seeds for a sustainable tomorrow, today. The arrival of the IONIQ 5 in 2021 will mark the beginning of a new era for the brand - one where sustainability will be at the core of everything IONIQ stands for.
With that goal in sight, the research and development teams at Hyundai have looked for ways to use organic and recycled materials in all upcoming IONIQ models in an effort to take eco-friendliness beyond the powertrain: bio paint sourced from bean oil and recycled plastic for the doors, eco-process leather and wool for seat covers, recyclable paperette fiber for door garnish and organic PET for carpets and seat lining.
And with the IONIQ 6 and IONIQ 7 following respectively in 2022 and 2024, Hyundai will create more opportunities for people and communities to act responsibly and be part of the shift towards a more sustainable way of being.
