Could Hyundai be phasing out light bars at the front and rear of its vehicles? Maybe, if one of its senior design executives has his way.
At the recent launch of the Concept Three, Simon Loasby, head of the Hyundai Design Center, and one of the automaker’s senior vice presidents, told Car magazine: “When is the time you need to let go [of light bars]? It’s almost like the end 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 you must have it, but in Europe you don’t need it so much.”
While the standalone light bar is a common feature on models from Chinese brands, it only features on a few Hyundai models sold locally, namely the Kona, i30 Sedan, Sonata and Staria.
One possible solution to the light bar conundrum is the pixel light signature Hyundai has been using across its Ioniq line of electric cars.
Instead 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 though 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 are looking for consistency but huge differentiation, and on a European context, that’s probably wrong what we are doing. But it’s right for us, and we have such a broad portfolio, it gives us a very big creative challenge per car.”
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