Hyundai Signals New Direction for Ioniq EV Design

Standing Out

Automotive design is one of the most important aspects of the whole industry. We've seen brands take their model aesthetics seriously and employ terms for each design language, ensuring each car stands out.

Hyundai's Ioniq EV line stands as a testament to that. Since its debut, this pure EV model range has seen car after car nominated or awarded for its looks. Each model served a distinct design language that set it apart from the competition. Surprisingly, it seems that the brand wants to change things up.

All In The Family

Hyundai's Europe CEO, Xavier Martinet, in a recent interview with Autocar, said the brand aims to make the lineup look more cohesive without sacrificing the iconic, distinctive looks each model is known for. He used the Concept Three show car as an example, noting that when it was revealed, people were pleased that the design wasn't just another SUV.

He points out that Hyundai very much follows the idea of creating designs no one else has in the market. Speaking about the new direction, he acknowledged that while each car stood out, there was little consistency across designs, noting that the only true connection was through the brand's pixel-style lighting and other subtle cues.

To counter this, Hyundai plans to streamline the design to benefit the entire range, aligning each car more closely with each new model. He was keen to point out that while this will be the next step in design, they will work hard to ensure they don't just copy each model and avoid being a "photocopyier machine."

Sticking To The Core

As a brand, Hyundai will continue to stand by head designer Sang Yup Lee's "Chess Piece" philosophy, which holds that each car has its own distinct character and should also "have a sense of family that shows they belong to something." We can likely see where the next design is headed in the soon-to-be-launched Ioniq 3.

Everything is still abstract; no truly new Hyundai design language has broken cover yet. However, it's highly likely that a revamp is on the way. We just hope they haven't overcomplicated the thought process, because as it stands, the Hyundai range as a whole represents some of the best-designed cars on the market.

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