In celebration of the Tree Planting Day on April 5, HMC launched the ‘One Child One Tree One Year’ campaign with Jonathan Lee, a noted child environmental activist, at the Mt. Hwanghak Botanical Garden in Yeoju, Gyeonggido. The event was attended by over 80 people, including student representatives from Ohak Elementary School and employees of Hyundai. HMC introduced to the audience the purpose of the campaign as well as the company’s new environment-friendly Sonata Hybrid, thereby marking the beginning of a new approach to environment preservation. ‘One Child One Tree One Year’ is a worldwide campaign initiated by Jonathan Lee in 2007. If a child plants one tree each year, the number of trees around the world will increase by one billion each year. The fruits of these trees can help relieve famine among the world’s poorest children. The day’s event featured Lee’s speech on the importance of the campaign and environmental preservation; grafting and planting trees; and exploring the surrounding forest.
HMC for its part introduced and explained the importance of environment-friendly cars like Sonata Hybrid, which debuted for the first time in the Korean market at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show. Sonata Hybrid generates considerably less carbon dioxides than a typical medium sedan, so driving a Sonata Hybrid is equivalent to planting 284 trees a year. So the children attending the event planted 284 trees that day. A spokesperson for the company said: “As an automaker devoted to sustainable life, it is crucial for us to continue to innovate our approach to environmental preservation campaigns. We will raise public awareness of environmental issues and of the significant environment friendly effects of Sonata Hybrid through our marketing.” Sonata Hybrid is the world’s first parallel-hard-type hybrid system developed by the original technology of Hyundai. Its total horsepower amounts of 191 (150 from the engine and 41 from the electric motor) and its fuel efficiency is 21.0km/litre, which matches the top world standard. It is Hyundai’s first gasoline hybrid car to be produced on a mass scale.