Hyundai Motor this week officially launched a new division to grow its motorsport and high performance car operations.
With competition from other Asian vehicle manufacturers set to grow strongly in the coming years, particularly from Chinese manufacturers, Hyundai is keen to strengthen its image as a leading global vehicle manufacturer.
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Hyundai also announced the appointment of a former executive of BMW's M high performance division, Thomas Schemera, as vice president in charge of its newly established N division.
Thomas Schemera joined BMW as an engineer in 1987 and moved to Hyundai from an executive position at BMW M in North America. He previously worked at BMW China, between 2005 and 2008.
He will work together with Albert Biermann, a former vice president of engineering at BMW M Automobiles, who joined Hyundai in 2015.
The new N division has been tasked with expanding the company's high performance and sportscar operations including the development of high performance versions of existing models.
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By GlobalDataIt will look to grow Hyundai's presence in key global motorsports, including international car rallying and saloon car circuit racing championships.
The division's first model, the Veloster N, a high performance version of the existing hatchback, is scheduled to be launched later this year.
It will join the Hyundai i20 R5 rally car which went on sale globally in September 2016 and the i30 N TCR circuit race car which was launched in November 2017.
