Hyundai Automotive has decided against exercising its option to continue as major sponsor of Carlton AFL Football Club from season 2001.

The six year partnership between one of the AFL’s iconic clubs and Australia’s leading passenger car importer kicked off in its inaugural year with Carlton winning the 1995 AFL premiership and reaching the finals in three of the next five years including the Grand Final in 1999.

Hyundai Automotive Distributors Australia Managing Director Doug Croker said the linkage with Carlton had been a mutually beneficial one and had helped Hyundai become an established household name, to the extent that Hyundai was now firmly established as Australia’s most popular privately purchased car brand.

“Carlton Football Club’s success, profile and professionalism was an appropriate vehicle for us to help raise general awareness of the Hyundai car brand name and that goal has now largely been achieved,” Mr Croker said.

“We will now look to other marketing avenues more geared to exposing individual models in our expanding range of cars, such as our new Santa Fe 4WD wagon”, Mr Croker added.

“Hyundai is only the third major sponsor in the history of the Carlton Football Club and the first to promote its brand on the back of the playing guernsey.

“I wish to express our appreciation of the tremendous support Hyundai has given to the Carlton Football Club since 1995, we have enjoyed a very close working relationship and believe it has been a very successful association for both Hyundai and Carlton,” said Carlton Football Club President, John Elliott.

“We are finalising the new major sponsorship of the Carlton Football Club and will announce plans in mid January,” added Mr Elliott.