It won’t just be tennis balls rolling around Melbourne Park for the Australian Open this summer.
Play gets underway today and Kia has handed over a fleet of 130 courtesy cars to be used for the duration of the Australian Open consisting of 40 Kia Sorento SUVs, 70 Kia Carnival people movers and 20 Kia Optima sedans.
Former champ Rafael Nadal was around for the handover as Kia Ambassador and also posed with the new Kia Stinger GT – Kia’s fastest and most powerful model yet.
The vehicles will be driven by 200 volunteer drivers in what is now the 16th year in a row Kia has been the official transporter at the Open clocking up a whopping 5 million kilometres in the process.
Tournament Director Craig Tiley thanked Kia for their ongoing support of the Australian Open by ferrying players, officials, media as well as fans over the two weeks.
“We are delighted to accept the biggest fleet of Kia Vehicles to keep the event moving smoothly.”
“It’s a huge logistical exercise to move everyone around during the tournament and this is achived thanks to Kia’s reliability and support.”
Hi Simon, I worked as a Courtesy Car Driver for the Australian Open for 9 years, finishing up in 2014 due to other work commitments. We definitely don’t volunteer in this job. All drivers get paid for the three weeks they are required to be available for the tournament.
Thanks for letting us know that Jen.