Hyundai Motor Group's luxury brand Genesis announced on the 23rd that it held a "Tech Brief" to showcase the technologies applied to its ultra-large flagship electrified SUV, the GV90.
The event took place on the 20th (local time) at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, USA. At this venue, Genesis unveiled for the first time a tech film titled "Sanctuary of Fineness," which documents the manufacturing process of the GV90. Manfred Harrer, Head of R&D at Hyundai Motor Group (President), opened his remarks by saying, "This project was not simply about developing a new SUV. It was a process of questioning what we take for granted and asking ourselves what luxury means to Genesis."
The most anticipated aspect of the event was the Neo-Lounge's coach door structure, known as the "Neo-Lounge Arch Gate." This structure allows the front and rear doors to open and close independently without a fixed B-pillar on the vehicle body.
Immediately after the reveal, praise for the sense of openness was followed by intense interest in how this structure could be implemented safely. The B-pillar is a pillar connecting the roof and floor of the vehicle body, serving as a critical structural element that withstands side-impact loads and prevents body twisting. Instead of completely eliminating the B-pillar on the GV90 Neo-Lounge, Genesis relocated it inward within the door frame and incorporated a structure reinterpreting the roll cage principle of Gyeongju cars into the vehicle body interior.
Lee Dae-hee, Head of Genesis Body Design Division, explained, "While the GV90 model with conventional swing doors secured excellent body rigidity surpassing competing vehicles, the GV90 Neo-Lounge achieved 12% higher rigidity than that."
Regarding the roof airbag applied to the GV90 for the first time in the world, Lee Seung-mok, Integrated Safety Development Executive, shared its development background. Notably, actual footage of a rollover test with the real GV90 was also released during the presentation. The video captured a vehicle traveling at 110 km/h tipping over while descending a ramp, showing all 12 airbags—including the roof airbag—deploying rapidly to protect occupants.
Executive Lee emphasized that "safety as Genesis envisions it means not just passing prescribed tests but preparing for moments customers might actually encounter."
Another highlight of the event was the manufacturing site where the GV90 is produced. Jeong Jae-heon, Head of Genesis Production Division, showcased the newly constructed Ulsan EV Plant built specifically for GV90 production, emphasizing that Hyundai Motor Group has concentrated its accumulated manufacturing technologies at this facility.
Hyundai Motor Group first introduced a 6,800-ton servo press and panel precision inspection equipment in the body panel pressing process to achieve fluid curves inspired by traditional Korean moon jars. In the body assembly process, four new joining methods were applied to securely connect bodies with significantly increased aluminum content by bonding different materials such as aluminum and steel separately for each section.
Completed vehicle bodies undergo automated inspection capable of detecting surface defects at six times human visual acuity, followed by an automated sanding process that refines the surface before passing it to the painting stage. The painting process also includes customized color booths that apply a single unique color per customer request. Most importantly, in the NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) process, actual driving environments were recreated within the factory to verify quietness.
Heo Kwang-hoon, Executive Vice President of Genesis Development, stated, "The GV90 is the most difficult car we have ever built," adding, "We will continue our challenge to make every moment customers encounter a vehicle into a special experience."
in INDUSTRY
