Rashad Iskandrni
· Brand value reaches USD 25 billion, up 2%, extending growth streak to 17 years
· Palisade named 2026 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year™, while IONIQ 9 earns top global safety ratings
· Group affiliate Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot wins Best Robot in CNET Group’s Best of CES 2026 as Hyundai advances physical AI and robotics leadership
· FIFA World Cup 2026™ partnership and back-to-back Cannes Lions Grand Prix wins highlight Hyundai's global sports and cultural marketing
SEOUL, October 28, 2026 – Hyundai Motor
Company today ranked No.
29
in Interbrand's "Best Global Brands 2026" report, with brand
value reaching USD 25
billion. Hyundai Motor also moved up two
places to fourth among automotive brands in the ranking, from sixth in
2025, marking 17 years of consecutive growth in brand value.
Hyundai
Motor's continued rise reflects ongoing strengthening of its mobility product
lineup, progress in securing future growth engines such as physical AI and
software-defined vehicles (SDVs), and deeper engagement with fans and audiences
through major sporting events and creative campaigns worldwide.
“Seventeen consecutive
years of brand value growth comes from customers who chose Hyundai and from the
teams and dealer partners who earned that trust. Improving to fourth among
automotive brands reflects both the strength of our products today and the technologies
we are building for what comes next — software-defined vehicles and physical
AI.” –José
Muñoz, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company.
How Is
Hyundai Strengthening Its Mobility Competitiveness?
Hyundai's
product competitiveness was recognized through
leading industry awards. The all-new Palisade was named the 2026
North American Utility Vehicle of the Year™ in January 2026, while the
electrified flagship SUV IONIQ 9 was
recognized as the World’s Best Large SUV at the 2026 Women’s
Worldwide Car of the Year (WWCOTY) Awards.
Global safety recognition followed, with the 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 earning the
2026 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ award (Awards apply to U.S. models only) and
Euro NCAP's highest safety rating.
The TUCSON Hybrid further reinforced
Hyundai's product competitiveness, emerging as a key contributor to growth in
global electrified vehicle sales. The model helped drive Hyundai's expanding
hybrid sales in 2025 and contributed to the company's record quarterly hybrid
sales performance in the first quarter of 2026. Building on this momentum, the
company recently unveiled the all-new TUCSON equipped with its
next-generation hybrid system, further enhancing its competitiveness in the
global SUV market.
For the full year 2025, Hyundai Motor
sold 961,812 electrified vehicles globally, up 27 percent year-over-year,
including 275,669 EVs and 634,990 HEVs. In the first quarter of 2026,
electrified vehicle sales rose 14.2 percent from a year earlier to 242,612
units, with electrified vehicles accounting for 24.9 percent of total global
sales and HEVs for 17.8 percent, both all-time quarterly highs.
How Is
Hyundai Securing Future Growth Engines Such as Physical AI and SDVs?
Hyundai
Motor further established its leadership in physical AI and robotics. In
January 2026, Hyundai Motor Group
outlined human-centered AI Robotics strategy and mid- to long-term
commercialization roadmap, while demonstrating technologies designed to advance
the Group’s vision for physical AI and robotics.
In September 2026, Hyundai Motor Group
showcased Atlas® training at the Robotics Metaplant Application
Center (RMAC), advancing preparations for its planned deployment at Hyundai
Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) beginning in 2028. Hyundai
also continues to strengthen its strategic partnership with NVIDIA, contributing to Hyundai Motor Group’s
broader physical
AI-based manufacturing innovation such as the Saemangeum data center.
Hyundai
Motor Group's robots earned a series of accolades, with Atlas winning
the Best Robot award in CNET Group's Best of CES 2026 and the Robotics LAB’s MobED
receiving the CES 2026 Best of Innovation Award. MobED was further named a Winner at
Germany’s Red Dot Award: Product Design in May 2026, underscoring
the Group's robotics technology and design competitiveness.
Hyundai continued to advance its autonomous
mobility blueprint through Motional, which launched an IONIQ
5 robotaxi pilot service in Las Vegas in March 2026, laying the groundwork
for Level 4 autonomous mobility commercialization.
Hyundai
Motor Group unveiled Pleos software brand in
early 2025, accelerating its shift toward autonomous driving and SDVs. In 2026, the Group revealed the
production version of Pleos Connect, first applied to The New Grandeur in
Korea in May, followed by a phased global rollout. The Group plans to equip approximately
20 million vehicles with Pleos Connect by 2030.
How Is
Hyundai Expanding Brand Value Through Global Sports and Cultural Marketing?
Hyundai
continued to elevate its global brand status through its official partnership
with the FIFA World Cup 2026™. As a
FIFA
partner for 27 years since 1999, Hyundai provided the largest-ever fleet of
official vehicles at the tournament and launched its brand World Cup campaign, "Next
Starts Now," spanning next-generation
football and the future of mobility to maximize brand affinity.
The
company also strengthened its influence through mega sports partnerships across
key regions, returning as the ICC's top-tier Premier Partner to boost
brand awareness among cricket fans in India and worldwide in December 2025, and
serving as official sponsor of the CONMEBOL Libertadores, South
America's most prestigious football competition, to strengthen brand affinity
across Latin America.
On the
cultural marketing front, Hyundai won the Grand Prix in the Audio & Radio
category at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in
June 2026 for its campaign "Coquí
Alarmed," marking Hyundai's second
consecutive year of Grand Prix recognition following the success of "Night
Fishing" in 2025. The
company also continued to earn recognition for its corporate social
responsibility (CSR) initiatives, building on the success of "Tree
Correspondents" and receiving additional honors in 2026
for campaigns such as "Forests
Without Names."
What Is Interbrand's "Best Global
Brands" Report, and What Does It Mean for Hyundai?
Interbrand's "Best Global
Brands" report is regarded as one of the most authoritative global brand
valuations. Each year, Interbrand evaluates leading global brands across three
dimensions: Financial Analysis, which measures the financial performance
generated by the brand; Role of Brand, which measures the portion of the
purchase decision attributable to the brand; and Brand Strength, which
assesses a brand's ability to create loyalty to extend brand impact in the
mid-to-long term.
“This year, Hyundai unveiled its AI robotics strategy, extending the brand
into physical AI. By proving tangible competitiveness in robotics and
electrification, it strengthened brand distinctiveness and trust, a key driver
of brand value growth." – Jihun Moon, Global Managing
Partner of Interbrand Group
– Ends
–
IIHS Disclaimer: To qualify for 2026 TOP SAFETY PICK+,
vehicles need good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front
and side tests as well as acceptable- or good-rated headlights across all trim
levels. In addition, winners need standard front crash prevention systems that
earn a good rating in the pedestrian test and an acceptable or good rating in
the vehicle-to-vehicle 2.0 test. If optional front crash prevention systems are
offered, they must also meet those criteria.
More information about Hyundai Motor
and its products can be found at:
https://www.hyundai.com/worldwide/en/ or Newsroom: Media Hub by Hyundai
Follow our Hyundai Global Newsroom
Instagram channel @hyundai_mediahub
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