Camera tech captures Kiwi’s car imagination

A Kiwi car company has become the first New Zealand car distributor to introduce reversing cameras as standard across its entire range of cars and vans.

Hyundai NZ has installed reversing cameras in all 13 models of passenger car and commercial vans across the range from July 2014.

The move will see hundreds of new cars added to New Zealand’s vehicle fleet each month equipped with their latest reversing camera technology.

The company’s General Manager Andy Sinclair says rear view cameras dramatically improve visibility in a common blind spot.

“Reversing a car can be one of the most difficult manoeuvres a driver will undertake on a daily basis,” he says. “Obscured vision is a common cause of object collision in parking buildings, malls and driveways throughout the country.

“Introducing our new technology will make it easier and less stressful for thousands of Kiwi drivers to operate vehicles through the country.” he says.

Sinclair says the new move is in line with the company’s commitment to establishing a higher level of specification as standard in all Hyundai models sold in New Zealand.

Hyundai NZ was also the first to introduce Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as standard for all vehicles in 2007, he adds.

ESC works by electronically controlling engine torque and each of the four brakes when it senses that a vehicle is losing traction and veering off course, says Sinclair.

Independent research shows that cars equipped with ESC are a third less likely to be involved in a collision.

Sinclair says the introduction of reversing cameras as standard is the latest innovation from a company which also created its own steel plant after rejecting market offerings.

“Hyundai created their own state-of-the-art steel plant not only producing the finest grade steel for car construction, but with the ability to recycle 100% of its by-products and creating 80% of its own energy needs,” he adds.