Hyundai-Toyota 'Motorsports Festival' Sold Out... "Jung Eui-sun and Akio Effect"

Event at Yongin Speedway, Gyeonggi on 27th
Hyundai Motor-Toyota Motorsports Festival
Tickets Sold Out on Opening Day of Reservations on 8th
Leaders of Both Companies Participate Directly... High Public Interest

Hyundai Motor Company and Toyota Motor Corporation's motorsports festival, held on the 27th in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, sold out all tickets on the day of the ticket opening. As an event directly involving the heads of leading automakers representing Korea and Japan, motorsports fans from both countries have shown enthusiastic interest.

According to industry sources on the 16th, all 3,000 seats were sold out within a day after the organizers opened the ticket reservation site for the ‘Hyundai N x Toyota Gazoo Racing’ event on the 8th. It is unusual for a motorsports event in Korea to sell out all seats on the first day of ticket sales. Both companies hope this event will expand the base of motorsports culture in Korea.

The organizers explained that since the event is experience-focused, including not only racing viewing but also test drive events, they had to accommodate a limited number of attendees. Additionally, tickets were sold purely to the general public without any separate allocation for employees, proving the event’s popularity by setting a sell-out record.

In particular, public interest was heightened by the news that Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, and Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota, would attend in person. Known as a ‘racing enthusiast,’ Chairman Toyoda is expected to take the wheel himself at this event. In response, there is also a possibility that Chairman Chung will participate in the event together.

Toyota's 'GR Yaris Rally 1 Hybrid' (left) and Hyundai's 'i20 N Rally 1 Hybrid' competing in the World Rally Championship (WRC)
[Photo by Hyundai, Toyota]

This event is expected to be not only a platform for harmony between the two companies through motorsports but also a stage to showcase their technological prowess in competition. It will provide an opportunity to confirm the direction of cooperation and competition that the world’s first and third largest automakers, Toyota and Hyundai, will pursue going forward.

Hyundai will exhibit the racing car ‘Ioniq 5 N TA Spec,’ which demonstrates its advanced electric vehicle competitiveness. This car set consecutive new records in the ‘Pikes Peak Hill Climb’ race ascending the Pikes Peak summit in the Rocky Mountains, USA. The Ioniq 5 N is a vehicle with the same specifications as the commercially sold model and broke the all-time record in the unmodified category. Hyundai will also display the ‘N Vision 74,’ showcasing its hydrogen fuel cell system technology. This car is a hydrogen hybrid concept combining the Pony Coupe design with advanced hydrogen fuel cells.

Toyota will showcase its ‘hydrogen engine’ technology. A hydrogen engine is a power machine that uses hydrogen as fuel directly without the intermediate step of a fuel cell. It can maximize the use of existing internal combustion engine driving methods and is economical because it does not require expensive fuel cell stacks. At this event, Toyota will unveil the hydrogen concept car ‘AE86 H2,’ based on the famous manga character car ‘Sprinter Trueno,’ to Korean motorsports fans, and present the ‘Liquid Hydrogen Engine GR Corolla,’ which uses liquid hydrogen as fuel.

This event raises the possibility of active technological cooperation between the two companies. If these two top-tier global companies in the hydrogen energy sector lead the way, they can draw a big picture not only for the development of powertrain-related technologies such as hydrogen engines and hydrogen fuel cells but also for accelerating the creation of a global hydrogen ecosystem. Furthermore, exchanges between Hyundai’s leading electric vehicle technology and Toyota’s advanced hybrid technology, including rear-wheel hybrid systems, also seem possible.