Cost and Technology Intensive 'Concept Car'... Meet Your Future My Car

From Concept Car to Mass Production
Prioritizing Values Shifted Significantly: Autonomous Driving, Connectivity, Sharing, Electrification
2019 Hyundai Concept Car 45
Commercialized as Ioniq 5 in 2021
Maintained Exterior, Applied Electric Vehicle Platform

Hyundai Motor EV Concept Car Prophecy

Ioniq 6 mass-produced based on Prophecy

Concept Car. A car made to test technology or showcase new designs (according to Merriam-Webster dictionary) must immediately capture the public’s attention. It literally represents the concept of a new car, meaning it should intuitively demonstrate the direction that the automaker pursues by appropriately blending advanced technologies currently under development or the design of vehicles to be released soon.

Since Harley Earl, the design chief of General Motors (GM) in the United States, first introduced the 1938 Buick Y-Job concept car in 1938, numerous manufacturers have joined in. When mass-produced one or two years later, it should neither feel outdated nor too ahead of its time. While incorporating functions and designs that are realistically feasible in everyday life, stuffing in every possible feature just to flaunt the latest technology does more harm than good. Considering that the typical new car development cycle is 4 to 5 years and costs several hundred billion won, it is natural to pay special attention to concept cars, which concentrate such time and money.

Genesis EV concept car 'Mint Concept'

GV60 mass-produced based on the mint concept

A Time of Upheaval. As the automotive industry moves faster than ever before, the entire process of developing, manufacturing, and selling new cars has also changed significantly. The automotive industry, which began in the late 19th century centered in Germany and the UK, underwent a massive production restructuring in the early 20th century centered in the United States, followed by Japanese companies refining it more precisely, leading to the present day.

The recent situation is called a “qualitatively different change” from the past because the vehicle’s propulsion system is shifting from internal combustion engines to electrification, and the values prioritized in cars, such as autonomous driving and connectivity, have completely changed. The same applies to concept cars. The concept cars recently released by major automakers carefully incorporate the keywords of future vehicles: Connectivity, Autonomous, Sharing, and Electrification, collectively known as CASE. Unlike concept cars of the past, which had elegant designs that were hard to approach or had low mass-production feasibility, these now need to imprint the impression of finished products that will soon be launched on the market.

Hyundai Motor Concept Car 'Le Fil Rouge'

Hyundai Motor 8th Generation Sonata

45. This is the name of the electric concept car Hyundai first unveiled at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany. About two years later, in 2021, Hyundai launched the Ioniq 5. At first glance, the exterior largely retains the same overall shape. Unlike previous electric vehicles based on existing internal combustion engine models, this car was the first to apply a dedicated electric vehicle platform. The slogan at the time was “Style Set Free.” Beyond simply being a car powered by electricity, an important concept was that customers could freely configure the interior according to their individual needs.

The name 45 carries the meaning that Hyundai has been steadily challenging itself for 45 years since it first developed a concept car and presented it on the global stage in 1974. The concept car introduced in 1974 was the Pony Coupe concept car, which did not lead to actual mass production. Another electric concept car Hyundai released in 2020, the Prophecy, is the prototype of the second dedicated electric vehicle, the Ioniq 6. Its design maximizes aerodynamic performance and was later applied to the mass-produced model, achieving the lowest aerodynamic coefficient (0.21 Cd) among all cars Hyundai has developed to date.

Hyundai Electric Concept Car 45

Ioniq 5

Circulation. BMW believes that a circular economy is possible for automobiles. In fact, the company is committed to this goal across the entire organization. The plan is not just to make and sell cars but to take back used cars and reuse internal and external parts or materials to make new cars. To this end, recyclable materials are applied from the planning and development stages, and the design approach is completely different from existing cars. The i Vision Circular, unveiled by the company in September 2021, is a model that embodies this direction and value.

BMW i Vision Circular

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