Automotive PR – In automotive PR news, Double-Olympic Champion and professional boxer, Nicola Adams OBE, takes the fight to cancer today, launching Hyundai Motor UK’s world-first Contactless Car with TV presenter, Jake Humphrey at King’s Cross station. The pair will be on-hand to encourage donations to Stand Up To Cancer – a joint fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 – through the specially built IONIQ Electric vehicle, which features five contactless donation points.

The unique car is a key part of Hyundai Motor UK’s partnership with Stand Up To Cancer, providing a quick and convenient way for the public to TAP TO GIVE™ in order to make a secure donation. The Contactless Car is being hosted in a specially built boxing ring in King’s Cross station, raising awareness and collecting donations from members of the public passing through the transport hub.

Nicola Adams, Olympic boxer and Hyundai ambassador, said: “It’s hugely important that we keep raising awareness of cancer; one in two people born after 1960 in the UK will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime, which means it affects all of us. That’s why we’re in the ring today to help beat cancer with Hyundai Motor UK and Stand Up To Cancer. We’re taking this world-first contactless Hyundai to the people of the UK, starting here in King’s Cross, so now playing your part in the fight against cancer is just one ‘tap’ away.”

Nicola and Jake were among the first to make the most of the Contactless Car’s unique features, including its in-car photobooth. Donations of £10 allow users into the vehicle for a photo, which then prints off in the IONIQ’s boot and can be added to the exterior of the car – eventually Hyundai Motor UK will cover the whole car with the faces of those who are part of Stand Up To Cancer’s rebellion against cancer. Every person that visits the Contactless Car will also have the opportunity to enter into a competition to win a brand new Hyundai IONIQ Electric Vehicle.

Jake Humphrey, TV presenter and Hyundai ambassador, said: “What Hyundai has produced here for Stand Up To Cancer is quite incredible. There’s no easier way to play your part than simply tapping your card or contactless device to donate, and just like Nicola and I have done you can add your picture to the sea of faces that will soon cover the car. What’s also important is that everyone shares their pictures; each person is e-mailed a social-media-ready version of their image so the Stand Up To Cancer message can be spread far and wide. Join the rebellion against cancer with us!”

The Contactless Car follows on from a successful trial carried out by Cancer Research UK as part of the 2016 Stand Up To Cancer campaign, which equipped cash bucket collectors with technology that allowed them to take contactless payments. Supporter feedback from this trial was overwhelmingly positive, with 25% of income being generated from contactless donations.

Working with specialist technology and fabrication partners, the Contactless Car is custom -made using Ardunio micro-controllers and Raspberry Pi micro-computers to ensure that the car reacts instantaneously to each and every contactless donation. The contactless readers are embedded into the panels of the IONIQ vehicle and work in tandem with the bespoke LED totaliser that is built into the front and rear number plates.

Hyundai UK will be encouraging employees, customers and the general public to all unite and help #DriveTheRebellion for Stand Up To Cancer by raising money for life-saving research with this world-first fundraising project. Around 970 people are diagnosed with cancer* every day** in the UK – one every 90 seconds** – but through crucial funding, scientists can continue to make breakthroughs and today’s discoveries will be turned into tomorrow’s cancer treatments.

Following its launch at King’s Cross, the Contactless Car will be driven across the UK appearing at a number of Hyundai and Stand Up To Cancer events between May and November 2017.

Tony Whitehorn, President and CEO of Hyundai UK said: “Everyone at Hyundai UK is so proud to be involved with this world-first contactless car project. The idea is all about unity and innovation, and those are two things that we’re very good at within Hyundai UK. I’ll be at King’s Cross today and I’m looking forward to seeing people getting on board and donating through the Contactless Car – it’s so quick and easy but a bit of fun, too. People can come along at any time up until 9pm this evening to give it a go, and they’ll be playing their part in raising vital funds that will help save lives.”

Rachel Carr, head of Stand Up To Cancer, said: “Joining the rebellion against cancer and helping to save lives just got a whole lot easier with the launch of Hyundai’s Contactless Car. Cancer affects so many of us, but together we can and will make a difference. Finding easy and fun ways to bring people together and encourage them to get behind our research is really important and Hyundai, with help from Jake and Nicola, is certainly doing that today.”

Stand Up To Cancer is a joint national fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4. Launched in the UK in 2012, Stand Up To Cancer has raised more than £38 million to date, supporting over 40 clinical trials and projects.
For more information visit: www.hyundai.co.uk/drivetherebellion and www.standuptocancer.org.uk.

*All cancers (ICD10: C00-C97 excl. C44)
**Based on the annual average number of cancer cases diagnosed in the UK between 2012-2014.