HYUNDAI MOTOR GROUP, Automaker Revs up Eco-friendly Strategy with Green Protocol Cars at APEC Summit

[The Insight] Hyundai Provides Protocol Vehicles for Ministerial Meetings
Deploys 113 Hydrogen and Electric Cars to Showcase Green Technology

Kim Dong-wook, Executive Vice President of Hyundai Motor Group (right), and Lee Ho-hyun, Second Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy (left), pose for a commemorative photo in front of The All-New NEXO at Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang in July. Photo provided by Hyundai Motor Group

Hyundai Motor Group will be driving the green agenda onto the international stage by providing a series of eco-friendly protocol vehicles for major ministerial meetings related to the 2025 APEC Summit. The group will be deploying hydrogen and electric vehicles at several meeting venues attended by ministers from around 40 countries and senior officials from international organizations.

On Jul. 22, Hyundai Motor Group signed an agreement with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and supplied 63 eco-friendly vehicles to three meetings, including the APEC Energy Ministers’ Meeting held in Busan in August. Subsequently, on Aug. 20, it signed another agreement with the Ministry of Economy and Finance to provide 50 vehicles for the Finance Ministers’ and Structural Reform Ministers’ Meetings set on Yeongjong Island, Incheon, from Oct. 21-23. In total, the group is providing 113 vehicles across the events.

The meetings in Busan in August served as a stage to highlight Hyundai Motor Group’s eco-friendly technology. The APEC Energy Ministers’ Meeting on Aug. 27-28 gathered some 340 participants, including ministerial-level representatives from 21 member economies, international organizations, and related private companies, to discuss global issues such as strengthening power grids, enhancing energy security, and advancing AI-based energy innovation. Prior to that, the Clean Energy and Mission Innovation Ministerial from Aug 25-27 brought together 31 countries to address topics including energy transition, future fuels such as hydrogen, and carbon-reduction technologies.

For these events, Hyundai Motor Group deployed only zero-emission eco-friendly vehicles: 34 units of the All-New NEXO, 12 units of the electrified Genesis G80, 14 units of Kia EV9, and three units of the Universe hydrogen electric bus. It marked the first time that hydrogen-powered vehicles were used as official protocol cars at a major international event.

At the meetings on Yeongjong Island in Incheon in October, the group deployed 50 vehicles, including IONIQ 9, EV9, and the G80.

Ministers from 21 member economies, along with representatives from international organizations such as the IMF and OECD, discussed financial and structural-reform roadmaps for sustainable growth across the region.

Hyundai Motor Group has previously provided official vehicles for major international events, including the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit, the 43rd ASEAN Summit, and the 56th Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting.

Overseas, it has played similar roles at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the G20 Bali Summit.

Kim Jae-hyeong monami@donga.com