Over the past few years, Hyundai automobiles have been supplied to the Arctic Race in Norway. The number of electric vehicles on the road has risen rapidly over the past few years. This season, all of Hyundai's official racing cars are battery-powered solely by electricity.
Thursday's first stage of this year's Arctic Race of Norway (ARN) was held in Mo I Rana's rainy but exciting town. Hyundai, the official race car supplier, is present with 128 rechargeable vehicles, as it has been for the past few years.
Hyundai Motor Norway's product and PR manager, Oyvind Lillestrom Knudsen, says the company has been involved in the Arctic Race for several years, with a recent emphasis on increasing the number of electric cars that follow the race each year.
For the second consecutive ARN, Hyundai has provided fully rechargeable official vehicles. That means either 100% electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids are the only options for transportation. Still, this year marks the passing of a significant threshold.
According to Hyundai's Knudsen, "the huge milestone this year is that all of the official cars from Hyundai that follow the race at each stage are fully electric. We think it's essential to pushing the boundaries of zero-emission mobility, and we want to contribute to making ARN the greenest cycle race in the world. Vehicles, whether for the organization, the team, or the support staff. They're all-electric vehicles. "
This year, 91 of Hyundai's 128 entries in Norway's Arctic Race are battery-only versions of the company's usual sedans. These cars are somewhere between the Hyundai KONA Electric and the Hyundai IONIQ 5.
The Arctic Race of Norway is a thrilling candidate for electrification because it frequently passes through areas with limited charging infrastructure. It also requires a lot of planning to charge all the competing electric cars in the race.
"Other race partners and we have had to put our heads together to plan and ensure a good charging solution as part of the exciting challenge of bringing more and more electric cars to ARN. We have the know-how as a charging team to ensure all the race cars are always charged up and ready to go. The team has multiple trailers equipped with standard and portable, fast chargers, and their dedication and hard work makes everything click, " Knudsen from Hyundai says.
Hyundai is participating in the Arctic Race of Norway by having cars in the official caravan that draws crowds of people of all ages and encourages them to talk to the racers before each stage.
This year, the Hyundai Innovation Lab, in partnership with the Research Factory, offers many engaging research experiments for kids. Also, starting on Friday, the caravan will include Spot, a robot dog.
Spot was created by the innovative team at Boston Dynamics, which Hyundai now owns. Spot will be available for live demonstrations during the ARN caravan and on the final day of the race in the village area of Trondheim as part of the Hyundai Innovation Lab.
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