Hyundai Secures Multi-Year UEFA Champions League Partnership Through 2031

Hyundai Secures Multi-Year UEFA Champions League Partnership Through 2031

Hyundai Motor Company has entered a multi-year partnership as the Official Automotive Partner of the UEFA Champions League, marking a significant expansion of the South Korean automaker's presence in European club football. The agreement, announced today from Offenbach, Germany, runs from the 2026/27 season through the end of the 2030/31 campaign.

The partnership positions Hyundai alongside the 72nd edition of Europe's premier club competition, which kicks off on September 8, 2026, and will culminate with the final on June 5, 2027, at Atletico Madrid's Estadio Metropolitano. The tournament now features 36 teams competing in a single league table format, with each club playing eight matches during the league phase.

José Muñoz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hyundai Motor Company, emphasized the natural alignment between the brand and the competition.

Football has been part of Hyundai for almost 30 years. It brings people together like almost nothing else, across languages and borders and generations. The UEFA Champions League is the best club football in the world, played every week in front of the most passionate fans in Europe.

Hyundai's relationship with international football dates back to 1999, when the company began its alliance with FIFA, sponsoring 13 FIFA competitions including the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan. The automotive giant recently renewed its FIFA partnership through 2030 in May 2023, cementing what has become the longest sponsorship tenure in the automotive sector. Most recently, Hyundai served as a partner for the 2026 FIFA World Cup held across North America from June 11 to July 19.

The new Champions League partnership extends beyond simple branding. Through its collaboration with UC3, UEFA's joint venture with European Football Clubs, Hyundai aims to leverage the tournament's massive reach to connect with fans across the continent. The competition draws approximately one in three people worldwide who express interest in the Champions League, providing substantial visibility for the brand's European operations and future direction.

IONIQ 3 Leads European Lineup

Central to Hyundai's Champions League debut is the all-electric IONIQ 3, a compact hatchback designed and engineered specifically for European customers. The vehicle made its first public appearance at Milan Design Week earlier this year before entering production at Hyundai's İzmit plant in Turkey in August 2026.

The İzmit facility, which opened in 1997 as Hyundai Motor Group's first overseas production hub, received a €250 million investment over the past two years, upgrading more than half of the plant's infrastructure. The facility, which has produced over 3 million vehicles since inception with an annual capacity of approximately 245,000 units, now manufactures the IONIQ 3 at an initial target rate of 30,000 units annually. This makes Hyundai the first foreign automaker to produce electric vehicles in Turkey, following the domestic brand Togg.

Xavier Martinet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hyundai Motor Europe, highlighted the timing of the partnership.

We are entering this partnership with our strongest line-up yet. IONIQ 3 is the first of five new models we are launching in Europe this season, designed and developed for our customers here in the region.

The IONIQ 3 features class-leading specifications, including a drag coefficient of 0.263 Cd and up to 497 kilometers of range under WLTP testing. Built on Hyundai Motor Group's E-GMP platform with a 400-volt electrical architecture, the vehicle offers two battery configurations: a 42.2kWh Standard Range delivering up to 344 kilometers, and a 61kWh Long Range extending up to 496 kilometers. The compact hatchback provides 441 liters of trunk volume and what Hyundai describes as best-in-class interior space.

The vehicle introduces the Pleos Connect infotainment system to European markets for the first time, a next-generation platform based on Android Automotive OS. The system is available with either a 12.9-inch or 14.6-inch display, with the latter representing a segment-leading screen size featured in the IONIQ 3.

European Manufacturing and Design Footprint

Hyundai's European operations span more than three decades, with an infrastructure centered on its technical and design facilities in Rüsselsheim, Germany. The European Technical Centre handles vehicle development and engineering, while the European Design Centre at the same location shapes the visual identity of models destined for the continent. Manufacturing takes place at facilities in the Czech Republic and Turkey, with distribution reaching 42 European markets through more than 2,000 sales and aftersales outlets.

The company's flexible powertrain strategy offers European customers options across the full spectrum: battery-electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen fuel-cell electric, and internal combustion engines. This approach has earned recognition in the region, with the Hyundai INSTER named 2025 World Electric Vehicle and the IONIQ 9 receiving Germany's 2026 Premium Car of the Year award.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Co-Managing Director of UC3, welcomed the partnership.

We are delighted to welcome Hyundai as an official partner of the UEFA Champions League. Hyundai has a proud history of supporting football at the highest level and a clear belief in its power to bring people together.

Under its Progress for Humanity brand vision, Hyundai views the partnership as an opportunity to expand social engagement and contribute to a more inclusive future through mobility solutions and community connection across European markets.