It was a Sunday with a difference for about 75 Hyundai owners in Kolkata. Apart from a joy ride in their favourite car, the group had a great time with loads of fun and games.

The event was the Hyundai ‘ Miles & Smiles rally’, organized by Hyundai Motor India for its valued Verna and Getz customers – to give them a chance to gauge the mileage of their car, learn the techniques of fuel efficient driving and also win prizes in the process. The event was co-sponsored by State Bank of India (SBI) and the associate sponsors were Indian Oil, HDFC and ICICI Lombard.

The concept of the rally was to promote fuel efficient driving habits among its Verna customers. Fossil fuel is becoming expensive and a sparse commodity, consequently judicious use of the fuel is a must if we are to conserve this resource. In this, driving habits make a big difference. It not only contributes to savings on the part of the owners but also saves precious resources.

Before the start of the rally participants were briefed on the techniques of fuel efficient driving and driving styles which will improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicle considerably. The idea was simple. All participants tanked up at the nearby filling stations and their tanks were sealed which ensured that they could not refuel during the course of the rally.

Their trip meter was made Zero and the Odometer reading noted down by the organisers. To ensure absolute transparency the tank was filled up in the presence of the participants, sealed and entries were made in the log book. After this, they were flagged off on the rally. On return, the same procedure was followed. The amount of fuel consumed was measured and the participant who used the least amount of fuel was declared the winner. The contest was held for owners of both the petrol and diesel variants of the Verna.

The rally was flagged off by the CGM, State Bank of India and senior officials from IOC and Hyundai from the IOCL filling station in Kasba at 9:30 AM. Drivers in both Petrol and Diesel categories for the Verna and the petrol Getz who got the best mileage out of their cars were given cash prizes totalling Rs 130,000. The winners in each category got a cash prize of Rs 25,000. The first and second runners up in both categories also received cash prizes worth Rs. 15,000/- & Rs. 10,000/- each.

The Winners were divided into three categories . While the Getz category had three winners , the Verna petrol and diesel had two winners each. The names of the winners are as follows

Getz

1. Pallab Gupta – 27 Km
2. Pratul Das – 26.76 km
3. Anirban Sen – 26.73 Km

Verna Petrol

1. Nikhil Modi – 24.38 Km
2. Khausal Bhadhuri – 21.67 km

Verna Diesel

1. Dr Arpan Chatterjee – 35.58 Km
2. Ganesh Pandey – 26.09 Km

The afternoon was as exciting as the morning with plenty of fun, games and prizes galore.

The Miles & Smiles Rally is a first Hyundai Verna Mileage Rally organised by Hyundai Motor India after its national Verna launch in September last year.

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About HMIL

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea and is the second largest and the fastest growing car manufacturer in India. HMIL presently markets 35 variants of passenger cars in six segments. The Santro in the B segment, Getz in the B+ segment, the Accent and Verna in the C segment, the Elantra in the D segment, the Sonata Embera in the E segment and the Tucson in the SUV segment.

The company recorded combined sales of 252,851 during calendar year 2005 with a growth of 17.26% over year 2004. HMIL is India's fastest growing car company having rolled-out 10,00,000 cars in just 90 months since its inception and is the largest exporter of passenger cars with exports of over Rs. 1,800 crores. HMIL has recorded a growth of 27.2% in exports over the year 2004.

HMIL’s fully integrated state-of-the-art manufacturing plant near Chennai boasts some of the most advanced production, quality and testing capabilities in the country. In continuation of its investment in providing the Indian customer global technology, HMIL has announced plans for its second plant, which will produce 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL’s total production capacity to 600,000 per annum by 2007.

HMIL is investing to expand capacity in line with its positioning as HMC’s global export hub for compact cars. Apart from expansion of production capacity, HMIL plans to expand its dealer network, which will be increased from 162 to 200 this year. And with the company’s greater focus on the quality of its after-sales service, HMIL’s service network will be expanded to over 1,000 in 2006.

The year 2005 has been a significant year for Hyundai Motor India. It achieved a significant milestone by rolling out the fastest “200,000th” export car. HMIL exports to over 60 countries globally and made a foray into the highly competitive UK market by exporting its first shipment of 820 cars.

HMIL has many awards in its bouquet. Recently Sonata Embera won "Executive Car of The Year 2006" award by Business Standard Motoring Magazine and Tucson has been declared as "SUV of The Year " by NDTV Profit-Car & Bike awards 2006.The mid-size sedan Accent won two awards, Accent Petrol-No 1 Entry mid-size car and Accent Diesel-No 1 mid-size diesel car by TNS. It was declared “The Star Company” amongst unlisted companies by Business Standard this year. Getz got the coveted “Car of the Year 2005” award twice over. It was declared a winner by both Business Standard Motoring and CNBC-TV18 Autocar Auto awards. Hyundai Elantra won the CNBC-TV18 Autocar “Best Value for Money” Car Award.

HMIL was also the “Manufacturer of the Year” two years in a row in 2002 and 2003. ICICI Overdrive Awards declared Hyundai as the “Car Maker of the Year” in 2003. Hyundai products with state of the art technology have also been winning many accolades over the years. Santro bagged top honours in JD Power Asia Pacific for three years. Accent was ranked No. 1 in J D Power Asia Pacific APEAL for two years and also got Business Standard Motoring Jury award for its CRDi model.

HMIL has also been awarded the benchmark ISO 14001 certification for its sustainable environment management practices.

About HMC

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Co. has grown into the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group which includes Hyundai Mobis and over two dozen auto-related subsidiaries and affiliates. Employing over 68,000 people worldwide, Hyundai Motor posted US$27.383 billion in sales in 2005 (on a non-consolidated basis). Hyundai motor vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 5000 dealerships and showrooms. Hyundai Motor Co. is a sponsor of the 2006 FIFA Germany World Cup.

Further information about Hyundai Motor Co. and its products is available at www.hyundai-motor.com