Hyundai's R&D show displays inside of vehicles

Visitors look at the engine room and car parts during the R&D Motor Show held at the Hyundai Motor’s Namyang Technology Research Center in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

By Park Jin-hai

Hyundai Motor has disassembled its brand-new automobiles, as well as those of its foreign rivals, for its subcontractors at its own mini-motor show.

The eleventh R&D Motor Show is taking place at the automaker’s Namyang Technology Research Center in Gyeonggi Province from Oct. 15 to 18.

The annual event, held under the theme of harmonious growth for the company and its affiliates, is expected to draw more than 10,000 visitors, including students and representatives of the company’s 36 subcontractors. It offers a chance to see the technological advances that Hyundai and its affiliates have made over the past year, and to showcase the company’s products alongside those of global automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and Nissan.

A total of 96 cars ― 42 Hyundai-Kia cars and 54 competitors’ cars ― are on display. They include the new Genesis and Sonata as well as Volkswagen’s Tiguan and Nissan’s Qashqai.

“The major global motor shows only display the exterior of the cars,” said Lee Seung-geun, a research fellow studying rivals’ cars. “This kind of motor show, where people can see the parts and benchmarks, is rare, I think. We wouldn’t be holding this kind of event if we didn’t have confidence in our technology.”

In the environmentally friendly car zone, Tucson ix, the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen car, electronic vehicles such as Kia’s Soul EV, BMW i3 and Nissan’s Leaf as well as Toyota and Hyundai’s hybrid cars grabbed visitors’ attention on the first day.

“This year's festival features nine cutting-edge systems in eco-friendly and power train areas, compared with just five last year,” said an official from the company.

To support research activities by its affiliates, the center disassembles more than 30 imported cars and hands out the parts to its 150 or so affiliates for study purposes.