55 of 130 electric vehicles provided to support Australian Open operations
Rafael Nadal’s first visit to the Australian Open after retirement
[헤럴드경제=서재근 기자] Kia is launching a special brand campaign to mark the 25th anniversary of its partnership with the ‘2026 Australian Open Tennis Tournament (hereinafter referred to as the Australian Open)’ and embarking on global marketing based on electric vehicles.
On the 14th, Kia announced that it designated this day as ‘Kia Move Different Day’ and held an official Australian Open vehicle delivery ceremony at the Kia Arena Terrace in Melbourne Park, Victoria, Australia.
The delivery ceremony was attended by Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith, Australian Open Organizing Committee CEO Craig Tiley, Australian horse racing legend and KIA Australia ambassador Damien Oliver, and 130 Kia vehicles were delivered to be used for the smooth operation of the event and the movement of participating athletes, VIPs, and tournament officials during the tournament.
In particular, Kia supported EV vehicles for the first time in the 2024 Australian Open partnership, and this year provided the largest number of vehicles ever, 55 (approximately 42%), as electric vehicles, demonstrating the leading competitiveness of its electric vehicle lineup to the global market.
Previously, Kia is collaborating with the Australian Open for three days starting on the 12th and is holding a ‘1 Point Slam’ event to announce the official start of the Australian Open along with a vehicle delivery ceremony.
1 Point Slam is a match in which the player who scores 1 point first wins, and 24 professional players and 24 amateurs, including Carlos Alcaraz, world number one in singles on the Men’s Professional Tennis (ATP) Tour, will participate in the match.
The winning prize is 1 million Australian dollars (about 900 million won), and if an amateur player wins, EV3 will be given as an additional prize.
During the finals, Rafael Nadal, a world-class tennis star and Kia’s global ambassador, will visit the Australian Open for the first time since retirement and attend the ‘Nadal EV9 Art Car Handover Event’ and ‘Kia Arena Fan Event’.
The ‘Nadal EV9 Art Car’, developed in collaboration between Kia and the Australian Open Organizing Committee, is a vehicle with a design inspired by the 2009 and 2022 uniforms that Nadal won at the Australian Open, and is permanently displayed within Melbourne Park during the Australian Open.
In addition, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Australian Open partnership, three brand content series ’25 Years of Movement’ and brand campaign video ‘Move Different’ produced in collaboration with the Australian Open will be released sequentially from the 14th on Kia’s official YouTube channel and Australian Open channel.
Kia President Song Ho-seong said, “The cooperation between Kia and the Australian Open over the past 25 years went beyond simple sponsorship, and was a special time when Kia was able to share its vision for innovation and sustainability with sports fans around the world.” He added, “We will continue to lead the future mobility ecosystem through various collaborations and grow into a company that provides greater value to customers and society.”
Meanwhile, during this Australian Open, Kia will introduce the PBV model ‘The Kia PV5 (hereinafter referred to as PV5)’ for the first time in Australia, along with its major electric vehicle lineup such as EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9.
PV5 is Kia’s first electrified purpose-based mobility (PBV) that boasts excellent body rigidity and durability based on the PBV-specific electrification platform ‘E-GMP.S’.
In addition, we plan to provide a variety of experiences, such as watching the 2026 Australian Open match and local tours in Melbourne, to 90 Kia electric vehicle purchasers and test drive customers selected from 22 countries around the world, and 20 ball kids consisting of grandchildren (12 to 15 years old) of Kia vehicle owners.
In addition, we plan to provide Kia electric vehicles to 15 teams of global social influencers and content creators so that they can create creative content after experiencing downtown Melbourne and the Australian Open from the 26th to the 29th of this month.
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