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As Kia Motors celebrates its 16th consecutive sponsorship of the Australian Open this year, the Korean carmaker has handed over a total of 110 official vehicles to the organisers of Australian Open 2017 at an impressive ceremony in Melbourne, the Australian capital.
The ceremony was attended by executives from Kia Motors Australia and Tennis Australia as well as Kia’s global brand ambassador and former Australian Open champion, Rafael Nadal, who handed over the ceremonial key to the fleet to Tennis Australia at the event.
The official vehicles, which are made up of 50 Carnival MPVs, 40 Sorento CUVs and 20 Optima mid-size sedans, are to ensure smooth and safe transportation for Australian Open 2017 by transporting players, officials and VIPs to and from matches and other activities throughout the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.
The handover of the official tournament vehicles came as Kia also promised to roll out various on- and off-line programmes for tennis fans around the world.
“We are delighted once again to accept the fleet of Kia vehicles to help keep the Australian Open moving smoothly over the next few weeks, connecting visiting fans from around the world to the biggest annual sporting event in January,” Australian Open Tournament Director, Craig Tiley, said at the ceremony.
“It’s a huge logistical exercise to move all our players, officials, media and staff around Melbourne during the tournament and every year this is achieved thanks to Kia’s reliability and support.”
Over the past 15 years, Kia’s courtesy fleet has clocked up close to five million kilometers in tens of thousands of journeys carrying champions and journeymen alike in comfort and safety.
This year, the Kia courtesy fleet will continue that tradition, driven by more than 200 volunteer drivers who expect to clock up more than 400,000 kilometers in thousands of journeys shuttling players, officials, media and fans during Australian Open 2017.
As part of the vehicle handover ceremony, Kia also introduced its new Stinger sports sedan, which just had its world premiere last week at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show.
Also unveiled during the ceremony was a giant Kia tennis racquet which will be displayed throughout the tournament for fan interaction at Melbourne Park.
Inspired by the theme, ‘Everyone has the Power to Surprise’, Kia said it is inviting visitors and fans at Melbourne Park to write their names on the racquet strings. A TV commercial featuring Nadal and the giant racquet can be seen at https://youtu.be/KgE97y8Vamc.
“The Australian Open is Kia’s longest running major sports sponsorship, and as a proud sponsor we’re delighted to be a driving force behind the growth of the tournament, not only by providing safe, stylish and comfortable transportation for players and participants, but also by engaging with tennis fans worldwide with various on & off-line campaigns to share the excitement we are about to witness over next few weeks,” said Bryan Cho, Vice President of the Overseas Marketing Group at Kia Motors Corporation.
