What If Motor Shows Disappeared? Here's Hyundai's Awkward Replacement
[March 3, 2020]
Since COVID-19, travel has been turned on its head, and in turn, so have conferences, conventions, and shows. Case in point, the Geneva Motor Show that was slated for March 5-15, 2020, is caput. Geneva isn’t the only show feeling the pain, either, as Mobile World Congress in Spain has also been cancelled, as have others, like the CERAWeek energy conference that was supposed to take place in Houston, Texas, on March 9-13.
But just because shows are cancelled, business plans wait for no one. So what does a non-motor show motor show look like? Sadly, for Hyundai, it’s a little odd.
Set for an official Geneva Motor Show debut, Hyundai unveiled its previously teased Prophecy Concept EV though a series of videos. One of those videos was a tedious, scripted interaction between Thomas Schemera, Head of Product Division at Hyundai Motor Group; Luc Donckerwolke, Chief Design Officer at Hyundai Motor Group; and Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, Vice President Marketing & Product at Hyundai Motor Europe. David Fitzpatrick, Director of PR & Communications at Hyundai Motor Europe, hosted the gathering.
Another of Hyundai’s videos was far better, and it reminded us of a video that might appear at a motor show just prior to a vehicle or concept taking the stage – in fact, that might have been this video's original purpose. It builds excitement through anticipation, and is exactly on point for what motoring enthusiasts like to see.
As for the Prophecy Concept EV itself, it’s far better than the blocky Hyundai 45 concept that was revealed at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show, but it’s still a curiosity. Why? For one, it uses joysticks instead of a steering wheel. But mainly, our issue comes with what Raphael Bretecher, General Manager for the Hyundai Interior Design Team, says in one of the videos: “A good design should strike at the first moment you look at it.”
We agree. And we’ve recognized the back of this car as a good design for decades thanks to Porsche.
Regardless, the Prophecy Concept EV is designed to be a sustainable green car, and its particular details are largely inconsequential other than they’re statements of intent for the company. And here’s Hyundai’s intent:
“Hyundai Motor Group is expanding its product line-up to include 44 electrified vehicles, and Hyundai Motor Company alone plans to invest almost 50 billion Euros for research and development into future technologies by 2025. The expectation is to sell more than 670,000 battery and fuel cell electric vehicles annually by this time, and to be positioned among the top three EV providers globally. In Europe, more than 75% of the lineup will be electrified by the end of 2020, and the company aims to supply almost 80,000 zero-emission vehicles to European consumers this year.”
It’s all good stuff. We’re just hopeful that this is not the end of motor shows, because sitting through awkward table-less round table videos like the one Hyundai produced is not a future we want.
(Images courtesy Hyundai)
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