Hyundai Europe CEO: "Design is not an isolated function"

The official launch of the Hyundai Concept 3 came this week during the IAA in Munich, but it was a week earlier that Car Design News got to see it in person. 

To go deeper into the mindset of the design department and how top management supports that, we sat down with Hyundai Motor Europe CEO, Xavier Martinet, and head of the Hyundai Design Centre, Simon Loasby. 

The plush, sculptural sofa on screen was selected for a reason: this was the very couch that made an appearance during design presentations to showcase the "Furnished Space" interior design language.

As part of a wide-ranging discussion with the two charismatic Hyundai leaders, topics include: 

- the idea behind Concept 3's exterior and interior design

- what CEOs think of concept cars, and why meaningful show cars make sense

- how Design works with the C-suite day-to-day

- the creative challenge of working on smaller cars

- how to stand out from the competition while creating a 'family feel' across models

- the buzz of working towards a motor show reveal