Featured Articles, Industrial Design, Transportation Design, Uncategorized

Hyundai and Kia have made immense gains in the past decade by re-invigorating their brand with truly unique designs and exciting offerings with their products such as the sporty Rear-wheel drive Hyundai Genesis coupe and Sedan, and attractive yet affordable Front wheel drive Kia Forte, Soul and Sorento.

Consumers who were previously buying marks such as Honda, Nissan and Toyota now have now made a switch to the Korean automotive manufacturer who has become known for delivering truly innovate and compelling products that offer both fresh aesthetics and solid engineering.  Considering the Korean automakers initial foray into the automotive world 20 years ago, this is quite an accomplishment.  It is even more remarkable considering that Kia and Hyundai actually gained market share during the economic declines between 2008 and 2010.  One of the ways that they were able to accomplish this was from an investment that was made 10 years ago that went directly into innovation; research and design.  The South Korean government had acknowledged back in 2001, that from an industrial standpoint that they needed to invest in Design to drive future revenues.  They understood that becoming competitive only was not enough, and that in order to become leading in class with their products, they would need to recruit top talent in both engineering and design.  This has certainly worked to their advantage so far.