Could Hyundai be phasing out light bars on the front and rear of its vehicles? Perhaps, if certainly one of its senior design executives has his way.
At recent launch of the Concept Three, Simon Loasby, head of the Hyundai Design Center, and certainly one of the automaker’s senior vice presidents, told Automotive magazine: “When is the time you’ll want to let go [of light bars]? It’s almost like the tip of that. We’ve done it with the Grandeur, Kona and Sonata, but now I’m like, ‘Guys, I’ve seen enough’.”
He did temper this thoughts by saying, “Go to China and it’s essential to have it, but in Europe you don’t need it a lot.”
While the standalone light bar is a typical feature on models from Chinese brands, it only features on just a few local Hyundai models, namely the Kona, i30 Sedan, Sonata and Staria.
One possible solution to the sunshine bar conundrum is the pixel light signature Hyundai has been using across its Ioniq line of electrical cars.
As an alternative of a solid LED light bar, many Ioniq models have pixel displays featuring a full width element fitted with a strip or multiple layers of chunky lighting ‘pixels’.
One thing Hyundai’s designers seemingly won’t change, though, is how differentiated each vehicle’s design is. It seems as if a family design language just isn’t in Hyundai’s immediate future, much less a series of cookie cutter designs.
Mr Loasby said each vehicle’s design is “80 per cent difference and only 20 per cent recognisable and familiar”.
He explained: “We’re searching for consistency but huge differentiation, and on a European context, that’s probably fallacious what we’re doing. But it surely’s right for us, and we’ve got such a broad portfolio, it gives us a really big creative challenge per automotive.”
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
