Hyundai Motor, Kia open UX Studio Shanghai to embed customer voice in next-gen vehicles

Local customer input gathered from early development stage

Research findings to shape locally tailored vehicle lineup

Open Lab and Advanced Lab form open-access experience space

An exterior view of UX Studio Shanghai. [Hyundai Motor, Kia provided]

Hyundai Motor and Kia announced Thursday the opening of UX Studio Shanghai, a user experience research hub in Jing'an District, Shanghai, saying the facility will deepen locally tailored vehicle UX research.

The two automakers relocated their existing UX studio from Huangpu District to a standalone building near Jing'an Temple, a high-traffic commercial hub in central Shanghai, and gave it a full redesign. UX Studio Shanghai will serve as a research base for studying China's fast-evolving smart mobility market and consumer trends, analyzing the findings in depth and incorporating them into next-generation mobility product development.

China is leading the way in intelligent electrification and smart mobility innovation, backed by a world-class digital ecosystem and high consumer receptiveness to new technology. New mobility experiences — including multi-screen interaction, voice-based services and in-vehicle connected ecosystems — are spreading rapidly, and a user base spanning diverse lifestyles makes the country an ideal environment for future mobility research.

In response, Hyundai Motor and Kia plan to use UX Studio Shanghai to study the lifestyles and mobility experiences of Chinese customers, with the goal of strengthening the user experience of their AI-Defined Vehicle, or AIDV. The insights will feed into actual product and UX design from the earliest stages of vehicle development. An AIDV is a next-generation intelligent vehicle in which AI continuously learns and optimizes the vehicle's functions, performance and user experience.

The companies also plan to collaborate with local academic institutions, including the School of Management at Fudan University, to study how social and cultural trends shape mobility experiences.

Visitors sit face-to-face inside a wooden Study Buck on display in the UX Test Zone, experiencing face-to-face mode. [Hyundai Motor, Kia provided]

UX Studio Shanghai occupies a three-story building divided into two areas: the Open Lab, an experience space open to the public, and the Advanced Lab, a dedicated research facility. The Open Lab welcomes any visitor to freely explore Hyundai Motor and Kia's future mobility technology and, through participation in research programs, gain a deeper understanding of the user-centered vehicle development process. It comprises three zones: the UX Explore Zone, the UX Test Zone and the UX Archive Zone.

Visitors can interact with exhibits covering the vehicle R&D process and freely exchange ideas about future mobility trends. They can also take part in ongoing research projects, experience the UX and new technologies of vehicles under development firsthand, and share their evaluations directly with researchers.

The Advanced Lab is where pre-recruited research participants work alongside researchers to validate UX projects. It consists of a Simulation Room, a Feature Development Room and a UX Canvas. The lab uses simulators to conduct advanced human-machine interaction (HMI) and advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) research that would be difficult to carry out on actual roads, and runs in-depth collaborative research projects on various themes to reflect customer feedback in real product development.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating its shift to AIDV while keeping a close ear to consumer feedback. As part of that effort, the group has established global UX studios in Seoul, Frankfurt and Irvine, California, in addition to Shanghai, researching and developing UX concepts that incorporate real user feedback from each region.

"UX Studio Shanghai is a key hub where we can hear the unfiltered voices of Chinese customers, who are highly attuned to digital trends," a Hyundai Motor and Kia official said. "We will reflect the customer insights gained in the Chinese market from the earliest stages of product development to deliver a differentiated mobility experience in the global market."

eyre@heraldcorp.com