A quick interview from September. Somehow I missed this. Good to see some of their thinking laid out here.
I especially like that Hyundai Three concept!
https://www.dezeen.com/2025/09/10/small-cars-renaissance-hyundai-simon-loasby-interview/
Their success would suggest that the era of ‘trade dress’ as we know it is over, that their design strategy is hyper-focus on a certain idealized customer+lifestyle. Would KIA by contrast strive to balance that with a more consistent portfolio appearance? Genesis follows the rules almost to a fault, but that could also be a response to their intended base.
I got a lot of insight from this pod a couple years back on how SK evolved to a ‘soft-power’ content generating powerhouse.
Thanks for sharing, will check it out!
There still seems to be something familial to a lot of these. The Ionig 5 and 6 are very different but this car seems to be influenced by both in a way, and then crossed with a Veloster.
It doesn’t always work, but I appreciate the big swings.
Kia maybe is a bit more familial, but also seems to be rapidly evolving. The new EV2 definitely looks like a baby EV9 in some ways but also makes some big departures. My first reaction to the tail lamps was “what the heck? Did someone accidentally move them 8” down"?”… but they stick with you and eventually grew on me.
