By Lorie Greenspan
The year 2025 is all about Hyundai, which means leadership in innovative design. It’s not just how the vehicle looks, which is always world class; it’s also about the hands, brains, and talent that deliver such invention. Proof of Hyundai’s aptitude is the recognition it received in earning eight 2025 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA).
If you want to achieve excellence in vehicles such as IONIQ and the KONA Electric then you’d better surpass any other design in the industry. Hyundai’s awards at the IDEA conference showed that the company did just that, in categories spanning automotive and transportation, environments, commercial and industrial, and service design. Honors included recognition for IONIQ 9, the all-new PALISADE, INITIUM, CX Smart Farm, Na Oh, X-ble Shoulder, and Automatic Charging Robot (ACR) Service, which highlights Hyundai Motor’s innovative design and diverse brand values.
IDEA, one of the world’s most esteemed design competitions, each year celebrates outstanding achievements across various categories, based on criteria such as design innovation, user benefits and social impact.
“We are truly honored to receive this recognition from IDEA. It affirms our commitment to delivering innovative designs that not only enhance mobility but also enrich lifestyles and reflect our responsibility to society,” said SangYup Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Hyundai & Genesis Global Design. “We will continue to push boundaries in design excellence across vehicles, spaces and services to further strengthen Hyundai Motor’s global brand value.”
In the Automotive & Transportation category, Hyundai Motor earned a Bronze for its electrified large SUV, the IONIQ 9, while both the premium SUV, the all-new PALISADE, and the hydrogen- electric concept car, INITIUM, were recognized as Finalists.
Beyond IDEA, Hyundai Motor has underscored its global design excellence by securing victories across all four of the world’s major design awards: the iF Design Award, the Red Dot Design Award, the Good Design Award, and IDEA.
Where Hyundai has exhibited the strength of its brain talent is in the advance of motors entirely powered by batteries. The company’s EVs represent the future of driving, providing instant torque from the motor with a battery that gives the driver an impressive range of up to an EPAestimated 342 miles with 2025 IONIQ 6.
The company’s AI-powered Metaplant outside Savannah, Georgia, also the site of the HL-GA battery company, a $4 billion plant and a joint operation with LG Energy Solutions, are the catalysts for the production of Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 XRT, another winner for the company, earning two awards at the Northwest Automotive Press Association’s 2025 Mudfest Outdoor Vehicle of the Year Competition.
The IONIQ 5 XRT was named Best Electrified Activity Vehicle and Best Two- Row Family SUV. Built for adventure and pushing the boundaries of EV convention, the IONIQ 5 XRT offers increased ground clearance, enhanced suspension, and bold styling. Assembled at the Metaplant, this model expands Hyundai’s award-winning electric vehicle lineup with dual-purpose versatility, delivering formidable performance both on the highway and off the beaten path.
“IONIQ 5 XRT has been designed to be a rugged, versatile and fun-to-drive electric SUV for customers seeking adventure off the beaten path,” said Ricky Lao, director, product planning, Hyundai Motor North America. “It’s an honor to be recognized by the automotive media professionals of NWAPA, as they clearly understand the importance of a vehicle that can perform in demanding and varied real-world conditions.”
The 2025 IONIQ 5 XRT includes XRTexclusive design elements including aggressively styled front and rear bumpers, robust side cladding, and all-terrain tires mounted on XRT-specific 18-inch alloy wheels. The model also incorporates revised suspension tuning and elevated ride height, underscoring Hyundai’s commitment to expanding the role EVs can play in active lifestyles.
Its other EV innovations include:
2026 IONIQ 9: Hyundai’s first-ever, threerow electric SUV. It offers first-class comforts and convenience and seating for up to six or seven. The vehicle’s ultra-fast charging will power up from 10 to 80 percent in as little as 24 minutes with a 350kW DC charger. IONIQ 9 also gets an impressive EPA-estimated range of up to 335 miles on a full charge.
2025 IONIQ 5 N: A high-performance electric SUV with up to 641 hp when N Grin Boost is engaged, the Ioniq 5N offers a host of trackready features.
2025 IONIQ 6: Called a “breakthrough electric sedan” IONIQ 6 offers a flowing aerodynamic shape, ultra-fast charging capability and impressive range, with an EPA-estimated 342 miles on a single charge of pure electricity.
2025 IONIQ 5: The company calls this its breakthrough electric SUV, featuring a higher range of up to an EPA-estimated 318 miles, plus a new NACS port that lets the driver access the Tesla Supercharger network—no adapter needed.
2025 KONA Electric: The all-electric small SUV. The KONA Electric N Line, with 19-inch wheels, “brings head-turning, track-inspired styling to the fold,” the company boasts.
Hyundai Motor, in addition to its other technical and design advances, has upped the game in hydrogen fuel cell technology for more than twenty years. In 2013 the company launched ix35, the world’s first mass-produced, followed by NEXO, the first dedicated hydrogen-powered SUV, in 2018. Last year, Hyundai Motor delivered XCIENT Fuel Cell, the world’s first mass-produced, fuel cell Class 8 electric heavy-duty truck, to customers in Switzerland. The truck utilizes PlusAI’s autonomous driving system designed from the ground up to deliver innovation with safety and scalability at its core.
The award-winning truck, recognized as a TIME Best Inventions of 2025, integrates Hyundai Motor’s proven XCIENT Fuel Cell truck platform with PlusAI’s Level 4 autonomous SuperDrive™ virtual driver. The combination delivers a cutting-edge solution for longhaul freight, enabling zero-tailpipe-emission operations and enhanced logistics efficiency.
“It’s a true honor to be recognized by TIME’s Best Inventions, which celebrates innovations that shape a better future. At Hyundai, we aim to contribute to building a sustainable and safe freight ecosystem through hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles,” said Chul Youn Park, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Commercial Vehicle and Light Commercial Vehicle Business Division at Hyundai Motor Company. “We deeply value our partnership with PlusAI, which has been instrumental in realizing this shared vision.”
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