Several automakers love to come up with one design language that they then translate to all of their models. This means that in the end almost all of their models look the same and its hard to differentiate them other than by their size, for example look at Mercedes and Audi’s lineups. Well Hyundai is calling for an end to the boring “Russian doll” styling.
Hyundai’s new design boss Luc Donckerwolke recently revealed to Motoring that he plans to overhaul Hyundai’s design philosophy by giving each of its models more personality. The former Lamborghini stylist said, “Imagine 65 percent of the cars on the road being from two different producers. If the cars have the same design, I mean you are creating a really boring landscape. I don’t want to do that.”
Donckerwolke’s goal is that the next generation models will be more tailored to the customer and feature designs that are more specific to the segments they compete in. “It’s a bit too early to talk about it but at the end of this year or the beginning of next year there will be some cars that will show how we will not have a need for similar style.”
While the Hyundai brand will see more differentiation, the Genesis brand will stick to a new design language that was previewed last month by the Essentia concept car. Donckerwolke also hopes that the Essentia concept does get the green light, “Every brand [needs] an icon. And I think that would serve that purpose.”
Lastly even if Hyundai’s future models do get more personality, Hyundai will not go for a polarizing design to get attention. Donckerwolke called out Lexus and Infiniti for their attempts to create more polarizing designs to get attention. “I find that making a really provocative statement is a bit counterproductive because you are creating something … at one point you have to go back because you are polarizing … you are creating attention, but at the same time you are aging faster.”
Source: Motoring