Hyundai rolled into IAA Mobility 2025 with something small, sharp, and unashamedly ambitious: the Concept THREE. It’s the company’s first compact EV concept to wear the Ioniq badge, and also the clearest signal yet that Hyundai wants to democratize electric mobility without sacrificing personality.

Compact in footprint but brimming with character, the Concept THREE debuts a new design language called “Art of Steel.” It’s not just an aesthetic exercise—it’s a philosophy born out of Hyundai’s unique position as one of the few automakers that actually makes its own steel. That fact became the seed of an entirely new design direction.

Simon Loasby, Senior Vice President and Head of Hyundai Design Center:
“We asked ourselves: how can we celebrate steel? Not just make a car out of it, but design a form that expresses its strength, flexibility, and beauty. ‘Art of Steel’ is about capturing the artistry of bending, curving, and flowing steel into volume.”

Paper, Steel, and the Birth of Form

The design team didn’t start with clay. They started with paper sculptures.

Nicola Danza, Head of Exterior Design, Hyundai Design Center Europe:
“When you look at a steel coil in a factory, gravity alone creates highlights as it bends and folds. Even the gentlest curves reveal something beautiful. We simulated that first with paper—studying tension, flow, and natural form—before experimenting with actual steel sheets.”

From those experiments emerged the Concept THREE’s most distinctive visual cue: three intersecting bends running across the fender, door, and C-pillar. These layered planes create highlights that shift in the light, giving the compact hatchback a taut, muscular stance without resorting to overwrought surfacing.

Loasby recalls the moment the winning silhouette appeared.

“One sketch just jumped off the screen. We called it the Aero Hatch. The roofline accelerates just behind the rear passengers for headroom, then plunges into a ducktail spoiler. Aerodynamic, efficient, but also emotional. And honestly—who doesn’t love a ducktail spoiler?”

A Hatchback Without a Face

Unlike other brands that force a single corporate grille across their lineup, Hyundai embraces individuality.

Nicola Danza:
“Every model is a chance to invent something new. Our cars don’t share a single face, and that’s deliberate. That freedom is what allows Hyundai to create fresh identities for each segment.”

The Concept THREE’s face is crisp and modern, punctuated by playful details—like the mysterious “Mr. Pix.”

Simon Loasby:
“We wanted to create a character for this car. The team chose the pixel—so we made Mr. Pix, a little figure hidden throughout the design. You’ll find him in the displays, HUD, speaker grilles, even the rear loudspeakers. The designers had fun with it, and people enjoy discovering him.”

Inside the Curve

Step inside and the Concept THREE doubles down on its mission: keep the driver’s eyes on the road, hands on the wheel.

Raphaël Bretecher, Head of Interior Design, Hyundai Design Center Europe:
“We clustered key screens around the steering wheel, so you’re not searching through menus for basic functions. Screen reduction is key—it’s about immediacy, not distraction.”

The cabin architecture plays with both safety and sustainability. An illuminated battery strip glows subtly along the floor. Door panels use aluminum foam—lightweight, structural, and visually striking. Upholstery blends wool with metallic-finished leather, creating what designers call the “Curve of Upholstery.”

Emilie Grimm, Advanced CMF Designer:
“Because it’s a concept, we can push materials that aren’t yet ready for mass production—like UV-absorbing tinted glass, seat fabrics from recycled ocean waste, and floor coatings made with aluminum powder. It’s about previewing innovations that could trickle into the next generation of Ioniq.”

Small Car, Big Future

Hyundai’s compact EV concept is more than just a showpiece—it’s a preview of where Ioniq is headed.

Simon Loasby:
“Concept THREE stretches the bandwidth of electrification. It prepares us for a compact, lower-cost production car that makes Ioniq accessible to everyone. And, just like the SEVEN concept, the production version will be even better.”

Playful details, a ducktail spoiler, recycled aluminum powder floors, and a digital pixel mascot—Hyundai is showing that small EVs can be affordable and emotional. The Concept THREE isn’t just a vision of what’s next for Hyundai. It’s a reminder that the future of mobility doesn’t need to be bland—it can smile back at you.

Source: Hyundai