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The all-new Hyundai
i40 Wagon has beaten the new Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz B class, BMW 1 series
and the Mazda CX-5 to win the Golden Award at this year’s EuroCarBody
Conference, held in Germany.
The award is
regarded as the highest international accolade for body engineering, and the
winner is decided after evaluation over a three day period by the EuroCarBody
Board, as well as the entire international expert audience of 500 conference
delegates.
“This is the first
time Hyundai has entered the awards, and as a result, Hyundai also became the
first Asian car manufacturer to be awarded the top prize,” says Hyundai New Zealand’s Chief Operating Officer, Tom Ruddenklau.
“And with the
all-new Hyundai i40 Wagon due to launch here in late January 2012, New
Zealanders will be able to see for themselves what so impressed this
international peer group of automotive engineers and designers.”
Hosted by
Automotive Circle International, an organization consisting of top automotive
suppliers and manufacturers, the judges praised the advanced engineering and
effective use of materials, as well as the production efficiency of the i40
Wagon, which scored 37.98 out of a maximum 50 points. The closest competitor
and second-placed car, the Audi A6, scored 35.86, with the Mercedes B-Class in
third place achieving 34.66. A total of nine of Europe and Japan’s largest
automotive manufacturers competed for the award.
The all-new i40
Wagon was designed and engineered in Europe,
and uses high strength steel and improved joins in its structure. This means
the i40 Wagon’s lightweight body has high energy absorption efficiency which increases
safety for occupants in the event of an accident.
The Hyundai i40
Wagon recently achieved a maximum 5* ANCAP safety rating and is in the
lowest insurance grouping for a mid-segment car in the UK, thanks to its
innovative body structure.
“The Hyundai i40
Wagon is beautifully designed but also extremely practical,” says Tom
Ruddenklau.
“To have been
given this endorsement by the world’s top automotive engineering experts, and
to be benchmarked as the market leader for design is a fantastic achievement
for the Hyundai brand."
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