Hyundai establishes €5.5 million testing facility at Nürburgring

Hyundai is investing €5.5 million in a new permanent testing facility at the iconic Nürburgring track in Germany. Scheduled for completion in August 2013, the new test centre covers four floors and 3,622m² and will include new workshops, office space and a VIP hospitality area.

The new facility provides a natural extension to Hyundai’s current European research and development centre in Russelsheim, Germany. Established in 2003, it is home to the company’s European powertrain, tuning and evaluation divisions.

With the establishment of a permanent base, each of these divisions will have easy access to the Nürburgring, enabling them to complete more assessments per year. Hyundai will also be using the centre for its durability tests which simulate up to 180,000km of severe driving in a matter of weeks.

“Quality is one of Hyundai’s core values and it’s key to achieving customer satisfaction. The Nürburgring is the ultimate location to test vehicle durability, and we’re able to apply what we learn there to all of our vehicle development projects,” said Allan Rushforth, Senior Vice President and COO of Hyundai Motor Europe.

“Our new facility will increase our testing capacity, bringing direct benefits to our customers in terms of vehicle quality and performance.”

In 2013, Hyundai will be conducting durability tests on 11 vehicles at the centre, as well as assessing steering, suspension, ride and handling characteristics for its European market vehicles.