Hyundai puts enviro foot down

27 August 2004

Hyundai puts enviro foot down

Hyundai is taking yet another eco step in New Zealand with floor mats made from recycled car tyres.

The environmentally-friendly mats are in the all-new Tucson SUV launched on 1 August and will be fitted to all other Hyundai models over the next couple of months.

Hyundai reports the New Zealand-made mats are superior to previous items at no extra cost … plus they help address a serious environmental problem.

Recycled tyres are shredded to fine rubber chips, similar to the material laid under children’s playgrounds, then bonded with latex to form the under- layer of the vehicle mats. Carpet or another surface is then bonded on top, as on previous mats.

A benefit is that the mat does not ‘walk’ or move when placed on the vehicle’s carpet flooring, so there is no need for locator pegs or studs screwed into the floor. The rubber chip of the mat is rough textured and holds firm wherever it is placed.

“While floor mats are just one of a vehicle’s many components, this is a significant conservation move we are able to make,” said the General Manager of Hyundai Automotive NZ, Philip Eustace.

“As the Government has pointed out recently New Zealand discards a mountain of three or four million old tyres every year.

"They are very difficult to dispose of and the country needs to find ways to deal with the problem: converting the waste to good use is one of the best possible ways.

“The entire process is carried out here in New Zealand at a final cost no dearer than the previous mats,” said Mr Eustace.

“Additionally we are aware there is increasing pressure around the world for individual industries to clean up their own waste.

“These mats fit all those criteria and we are delighted to take a lead by introducing them right across the Hyundai range.

“It’s appropriate they go first into the new Tucson, which was conceived and built as an environmentally-friendly vehicle at one of the cleanest plants in the world.”

ENDS

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