Hyundai Motor to release new car developed in virtual design, testing process

[Source: Hyundai Motor Co.]

South Korea¡¯s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co. has employed virtual reality (VR) solutions in designing and testing out new cars before mass production to save time and costs in the new car development process.

According to industry sources on Monday, Hyundai Motor has initiated a project to use VR technology in new car development. It has been using VR technology in car designing process since 2019, but it is the first time that the company to use VR in building a prototype of a new model and evaluation before the pilot stage.

For the project, Hyundai Motor has continuously tweaked problems and come up with solutions since 2020. When the virtual development process is fully introduced to the entire R&D process, the carmaker can improve design quality and efficiency with the VR technology by reducing vehicle development time by 20 percent and annual development cost by 15 percent.

Some raise concerns about the reliability of newly developed vehicles using the virtual development process and a possible increase in the R&D costs.

Hyundai Motor reportedly started the project late last year. Considering the usual period of new car development, which is four to five years, the company is expected to release a new car developed using the VR solutions after 2025. The model to be developed by VR technology remains confidential.

Other finished carmakers have been actively seeking to incorporate VR technology in new car development to reduce time and costs. Volvo has carried out study on vehicle safety with various driving tests in a virtual space. Volkswagen announced its plan to use VR in its car production process in 2018.

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