(Left to Right) Kwon Moon-sik, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman and itsResearch & Development head; Koo Young-ki, Hyundai Motor India ManagingDirector; Rakesh Srivastava, Hyundai Motor India SVP (Sales & Marketing);Ahn Min-sik, minister of Embassy of the Republic of Korea are posing next to newTucson unveiled at Delhi Auto Show held at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noidaon February 3. / Photographed by Ha Man-joo

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By Ha Man-joo, India correspondent, AsiaToday - Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) has become the official partner of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the next four years.

"Hyundai Motor India has signed a four year partnership with the Board of Control for Cricket in India as an official partner for all its matches in India, and the official signing ceremony took place yesterday. Indians love their cricket. We want to improve Hyundai brand and contribute to the development of cricket by sponsoring cricket matches," said Hyundai Motor India MD and CEO Koo Young-ki in an interview with AsiaToday on Thursday.

Koo said, "We will be holding various events for fans, such as giving out international match tickets of India's most popular sports cricket in a lottery, and create 'Hyundai Fan Park' by installing a big screen in parks or open space outside the stadium. Through this, Indian customers will be able to experience Hyundai Motor more closely."

Hyundai Motor would get rights for putting three logos on the pitch floor, space at perimeter boards, stadium display. It would also conduct trophy tours.

BCCI is planning around 80 international matches for the next four years. For this, BCCI signed a partnership deal with Hyundai Motor India as well as beverage major PepsiCo and online payment service company Paytm. The cricket body would get Rs 150 crore in the next four years.

Hyundai Motor India revealed that apart from cricket, it also considered football as a part of its sports marketing target. Football is becoming popular among young people. Tata Motors partnered with the food legend - Lionel Messi as the global brand ambassador for its passenger vehicles in order to add dynamic masculinity into their brand.

However, Hyundai made the final decision to sponsor cricket matches that are popular in India as well as the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Pakistan. It has been revealed that BCCI also was fully engaged in the negotiation considering Hyundai Motor's brand image in India.

Koo said, "This partnership deal is a core element of Hyundai Motor's strategy, playing a vital role in connecting global customers to our brand."