Hyundai Motor takes over Champions League car partner slot vacated by Nissan

Automaker fills car sponsorship gap empty for 5 seasons

Ioniq 3 to reach European customers through UCL stage

Five new models set for Europe from this year through next year

Football push expands after World Cup, Inter Miami deals

An image marking the official partnership between Hyundai Motor and the UEFA Champions League. Hyundai Motor will serve as the official automotive partner of the UEFA Champions League for five seasons, from this year through 2031. [Hyundai Motor]

Hyundai Motor is extending its global football marketing reach from the North and Central America World Cup to Europe's premier club competition, the UEFA Champions League. Over the next five years, the automaker plans to put its brand in front of football fans worldwide while using the tournament as a stage to promote new European-market models, including the Ioniq 3.

Hyundai Motor announced Tuesday it has signed a multi-year deal to serve as the official automotive partner of the UEFA Champions League for five seasons, from this year through 2031. The partnership also covers the UEFA Super Cup, the UEFA Youth League and the UEFA Futsal Champions League.

The deal marks the return of an automotive brand as an official Champions League partner for the first time in five seasons. Since the competition launched in 1992, the automotive slot was held by Ford through 2013, then by Nissan from 2014 to 2021. Nissan, which was grappling with poor earnings and restructuring pressure at the time, chose not to renew when its contract expired in 2021, citing a decision to redirect its global sponsorship resources elsewhere. The automotive partner slot has been vacant since Nissan's departure, and Hyundai Motor now fills it.

Hyundai Motor has long made football a cornerstone of its global brand marketing. The company first partnered with FIFA in 1999 and has sponsored major international tournaments including the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. Kia joined the effort in 2006, and Hyundai Motor Group extended its FIFA partnership through 2030 in 2023. The automaker also participated as an official partner at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup held this past summer.

Hyundai Motor's Palisade and Santa Fe are displayed in front of Chase Stadium in Miami, Florida. Hyundai Motor has served as the official automotive partner of Inter Miami CF since July. [Inter Miami CF]

Following the World Cup, Hyundai Motor broadened its football marketing to individual clubs. Hyundai Motor America signed a multi-year partnership in July with Inter Miami CF — the Major League Soccer club where Lionel Messi plays — becoming its official automotive partner. The company operates a "Hyundai Club" at the team's home stadium and is securing a brand presence at the new Miami Freedom Park, deepening its connection with North American football fans.

The automaker also has a history with European football. Hyundai Motor and Kia previously sponsored the UEFA European Championship, serving as official partners through the 2016 tournament. This time, the company returns not to a national-team competition but to the Champions League, where the world's top clubs compete.

The Champions League is the world's largest annual club football competition, featuring 36 European clubs. An estimated one in three people worldwide watches the tournament. With matches held in major European markets every week, the partnership also offers consistent exposure to local consumers.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, co-CEO of UC3, UEFA's operating entity, said he was pleased to welcome Hyundai Motor as an official UEFA Champions League partner. "Hyundai Motor has a long history of supporting top-level football and a firm belief in the power of the sport to bring people together," he said.

The Ioniq 3, a Europe-exclusive electric vehicle from Hyundai Motor, on display at the automaker's 2026 CEO Investor Day held at Conrad Seoul hotel in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 26. [Hyundai Motor]

The vehicle Hyundai Motor is leading with under the new partnership is the Ioniq 3, a compact electric hatchback designed and developed in Europe for European consumers. The car made its public debut at Milan Design Week earlier this year and entered production last month at the company's factory in Izmit, Turkey. It is the first battery-electric vehicle built at that plant and the first of five new models Hyundai Motor plans to launch in Europe from this year through next year. The automaker intends to use the Champions League as a marketing platform to continuously promote the Ioniq 3 and the other new models.

The Ioniq 3 offers a maximum range of 497 kilometers on a single charge under the European WLTP standard. The interior features a 14.6-inch display running Hyundai Motor Group's next-generation infotainment system, Pleos Connect.

Xavier Martinet, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe, said the Ioniq 3 is the first of five new models the company is introducing in Europe this season and was designed and developed for customers in the region. "It is the vehicle that will lead Hyundai Motor's future lineup," he said.

The Ioniq 3, Hyundai Motor's Europe-focused electric vehicle, on display at Milan Design Week in Italy on April 20 (local time). [Reuters]

The Champions League sponsorship also reflects Hyundai Motor's strategy to grow electric vehicle sales in Europe. The company conducts design and research and development for its European lineup in Rüsselsheim, Germany, and operates production bases in the Czech Republic and Turkey. It also maintains a sales and service network of more than 2,000 outlets across 42 European markets.

Electrified vehicles accounted for 24 percent of Hyundai Motor's European sales last year. About 80 percent of models currently sold in Europe are available with an electric or hybrid powertrain, and the company plans to offer an electrified option across its entire European lineup by next year.

Hyundai Motor President and CEO Jose Munoz said football has been part of the company for 30 years. "It is a sport with the power to bring people together across languages, borders and generations," he said. "Following the World Cup this summer, the UEFA Champions League is an ideal platform to showcase Hyundai Motor vehicles with the design and features that fans will love."

kwater@heraldcorp.com