Hyundai ups CSR activities in Brazil

Brazilian students pose at Hyundai Motor Group’s headquarters in Yangje, Seoul on Feb. 8, after completing an internship program with the automaker. / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group

By Kim Tae-jong

Hyundai Motor has been enhancing its corporate image through various social contribution activities in Brazil, which has emerged as one of the key overseas markets for the auto giant.

The automaker experienced serious setbacks in the first half of last year with sales dropping 29 percent due to a heavy tax on imported brands by the Brazilian government, but made a breakthrough by opening a new factory there and launching various social contribution activities to promote its brand awareness.

In particular, the automaker is supporting the Brazilian government’s four-year “Science without Borders” initiative, which plans to fund 100,000 scholarships for Brazilian students to study at top institutions overseas.

In May, Hyundai Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation with the program and will also donate $1.5 million to the program over three years.

Under the agreement, the automaker has offered internship programs at its facilities in Korea to Brazilian scholarship students.

Hyundai first organized an internship program for five Brazilian students last summer and expanded it to invite 44 students, who worked for five weeks at Hyundai and its seven affiliates such as Hyundai Engineering and Construction and Hyundai Mobis.

The internship program has been acclaimed by participants and has had a positive impact on the brand image of Hyundai in Brazil.

“I was lucky to participate in the project to design a concept car for Brazilian people at Hyundai with world-class experts,” said Renata Michels Thiel, who joined an internship program with Hyundai’s design team early this year. “This encouraged me to want to become a car designer.”

Hyundai now plans to organize internship programs twice a year for a total of 60 students every year.

Along with its aggressive marketing, such social contribution activities have helped the automaker secure its presence in the Brazilian market.

The company opened a new plant in Piracicaba, near Sao Paulo, last year to produce the HB20 models, a modified version of the i20. “HB” stands for “Hyundai Brazil.” Currently, three models ― the HB20 hatchback, HB20X SUV and HB20S sedan ― are manufactured there. The automaker will soon add the i30 models and the Santa Fe SUV to its lineup for the Brazilian market.

Hyundai’s monthly sales stood at about 5,000 until September of last year but jumped to 11,000 in October after the launch of the HB20. The popularity of the new model continued with 11,270 HB20 models sold in January, up 84 percent from the same period last year.

“We will keep increasing our presence in the market by introducing new models tailored for Brazilian customers and also participate in various social contribution activities to become a brand loved by locals,” an official from Hyundai said.