Both brands will attempt to get greater design differentiation, says Peter Schreyer
Hyundai and Kia will explore different designs which will give them greater differentiation in the market.
That’s according to new global design chief for the brands Peter Schreyer, who says the new designs will begin to emerge “in two to three years’ time”.
He believes cars from the two sister brands “should be separated more, and we’ll get a wider range”. Schreyer cites the example of the platform-sharing Volkswagen Golf and Audi A3, which appeal to very different customers.
“We also need a difference in content,” he said. By that, he means that Hyundais and Kias should also be separated by their features and functionality. “Kia has got a strong direction, so why should we change?” he said. But Hyundai “will change”.
Hyundai’s ‘fluidic sculpture’ design language “will evolve more”, he said. “But it only deals with the car’s surface, not its proportions. Other things define the car as well, like window graphics.
“We’ll pick out the good things and make a stronger family feel. Like Kia, we’ll create a typical design, and it will look like it everywhere in the world. It’s a complex product range but we have to make a hierarchy.”
Among those good things are “quality, our kind of style and a front face design that’s been there all along. Hyundai had a hexagonal grille a while ago. We’ll find another twist to the grille to make it unique”.