Hyundai has published a teaser image of a battery electric concept car the company will reveal at next month's Frankfurt auto show.
The car is called the Hyundai 45, and its design was apparently inspired by "the brand's first model in the 1970s." We presume that was the 1975 Pony, predecessor to the 1980s version of the compact hatchback that established the Korean company in North America.
A car that wound up being the target of ridicule (in North America, at least) seems a strange place from which to draw inspiration, but here we are. Call this Hyundai's answer to the Honda Urban EV, a throwback to the first-gen Civic that draws heavily on that brand's history and capitalizes on the industry's continued focus on retro-inspired designs.
Hyundai says the concept explores a forward-driven design direction and an evolution of the brand's Sensuous Sportiness design language, which we've already seen on the forthcoming 2020 Sonata sedan.
The 45 concept will serve as a stepping-off point for the company's future EV designs. Rumour is the Korean company has been working on a new, dedicated electric vehicle platform that will underpin vehicles larger than those in its current EV lineup. Hyundai's biggest electrified model is the Sonata mid-size sedan, while the rest are compacts: the Ioniq comes in hybrid, PHEV, and EV variants; and the Kona Electric is a long-range EV version of the brand's successful compact crossover.
We think it likely the 45 concept is intended to set Hyundai up to expand its electric crossover and SUV range into compact and mid-size territory. Watch for those models to build on the Kona Electric's impressive 400-plus km driving range.
We also think Hyundai's future EVs will mark a move upscale to take advantage of importance of plug-in vehicles in the luxury car arena. Certainly, a larger electric Hyundai will at least come with niceties like automatic climate control, a heated steering wheel and a suite of driver aids and active safety features, as the Kona Electric does.
It's also possible the 45 concept will pave the way to the upscale Genesis brand's first plug-in model.
The Hyundai 45 concept will be officially unveiled in Frankfurt on September 10.
