Hyundai promotes Busan's Expo bid at Davos

Hyundai Motor Group’s eco-friendly models, promoting Busan City’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo, run on the road in the Swiss resort town of Davos on Sunday. A total of 58 vehicles, including the Genesis G80, GV60 and Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid, are being deployed to carry Korean delegations during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting held in the town this week. (Hyundai Motor Group)

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it would operate 58 vehicles during the World Economic Forum in the Swiss city of Davos this week to promote South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan.

As a means to echo Busan’s sustainability vision for the World Expo, the carmaker offered 45 EV models. The list includes the luxury brand Genesis’ 18 Electrified G80, 8 Electrified GV60, 4 Electrified GV70 and Hyundai’s 15 Santa Fe Plugin Hybrid models.

The cars, wrapped with a catchphrase “World Expo 2030 Busan, Korea,” will be used to carry Korea's business delegates and other visitors during the weeklong event. In order to further promote Busan’s expo bid, the vehicles will be driven in the downtown of Davos as well.

Santa Fe PHEV models will provide a shuttle service between Korean companies’ major booths, the train station and accommodations.

The carmaker also has prepared precautionary measures for safety management.

For EVs, which have a risk of the battery draining out faster during cold weather, it has installed a charging point for Hyundai’s and Genesis’ EV models. In case of emergencies in which EVs fail to make it to the charging area, Ioniq 5 models will use their stored energy to power the dead batteries using vehicle-to-load technology.

All the cars are equipped with all-wheel drive systems and winter tires to help cope with icy conditions and snowy roads. Hyundai’s safety management tech team will be on site during the forum for assistance.

In August 2021, Hyundai created a task force for Busan’s Expo bid. During the general assembly of Bureau International des Expositions in July and November last year, the carmaker sent out vehicles wrapped with Busan World Expo logos.

At the 2022 G-20 Bali summit, where the carmaker provided 393 cars as official vehicles for the event, it installed banners and handed out leaflets to promote Busan’s Expo bid.

The four competing cities to host 2030 World Expo are Busan, Riyahd in Saudi Arabia, Odesa in Ukraine, and Rome, Italy. Moscow was considered the strongest candidate, but it has withdrawn its bid due to the ongoing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

By Byun Hye-jin(hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)