Hyundai Motor Company’s IONIQ 6 has been named among the top three finalists across three categories in the 2023 World Car Awards.
Hyundai IONIQ 6 is among the finalists for 2023 World Car of the Year, 2023 World Electric Vehicle and 2023 World Car Design of the Year, respectively.
IONIQ 6 is based on the same Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) as the 2022 World Car of the Year, IONIQ 5, and has attracted a hugely positive response since it was unveiled last year.
IONIQ 6 has also won numerous prestigious awards during the past few months as it’s been named ‘Saloon of the Year’ at 2023 GQ Car Awards and ‘New Car of the Year’ hosted by Le Guide de l’auto.
Plus, it achieved a five-star safety rating and ‘Best in Class’ selection in the ‘Large Family Car’ category from Euro NCAP.
The World Car Awards is an annual event that involves 100 international jurors from 32 countries as they test-drive and vote on a field of eligible vehicles.
The winners will be announced live at an awards ceremony during the 2023 New York International Auto Show on April 5, 2023. This is the 18th year of the World Car Awards’ partnership with the New York International Auto Show.
2023 ELANTRA Hybrid Blue, SONATA Hybrid Blue and KONA EV Among Top
The 2023 Hyundai ELANTRA Hybrid Blue, SONATA Hybrid Blue and KONA Electric were named on the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) list of “Greenest Vehicles of 2023.”
In the growing, competitive green vehicle segment, each Hyundai vehicle’s lifetime environmental impact was analyzed by ACEEE, scoring among a select group of standouts. This list specifies the twelve most environmentally-friendly nameplates available to consumers this model year.
Hyundai Motor Group Shows Newly Developed Automatic Charging Robot
Hyundai Motor Group has developed an automatic charging robot (ACR) for electric vehicles (EV), and today released a video showing its capabilities.
The ACR for EVs is a one-arm robot capable of plugging a cable into an EV’s charging port and removing it again once charging is complete. The new video of the real robot in action follows up on a CGI version released by the Group in July last year.
The new video begins with a scene in which the Hyundai IONIQ 6 parks autonomously in an EV-charging bay. Once the vehicle is stationary, the ACR communicates with the vehicle to open the charging port, calculating the exact location and angle through a camera mounted inside.
The robot then picks up the charger and fastens it to the vehicle’s charging port, thus starting the charging session. Once charging is complete, the robot removes the charger, returns it to its rightful place, and closes the cover of the vehicle’s charging port.
“The ACR will help to make EV-charging easier and more convenient, especially in dark environments.
It will also improve accessibility, particularly for people with mobility barriers, as charging cables become thicker and heavier to enable high-speed charging,” said Hyun Dong-Jin, Head of Robotics Lab, Hyundai Motor Group.
“We will continue developing the ACR for increased safety and more convenience, so that all EV customers can soon benefit from using it at charging stations.”
The ACR, which may appear deceptively simple at first glance, is an example of the Group’s advanced robot technology.
The Group’s Robotics Lab has considered diverse variables in developing the ACR, such as the parking location of the vehicle, the shape of the charging port, the weather, potential obstacles and weight of the charging cable.
As a result, the ACR has secured a waterproof and dustproof grade of IP65, and its performance has been greatly improved so that it can be stably operated even in extreme environments.
In addition, engineers have installed a safety pole with a built-in laser sensor around the robot to prevent possible accidents by enabling it to detect stationary and moving obstacles.
The Group expects automatic charging robots to significantly increase convenience of EV charging, and if combined with autonomous parking control systems in future, can improve utilization by sequentially charging several parked vehicles.
The newly unveiled ACR will be on display at Hyundai Motor’s exhibition booth during the 2023 Seoul Mobility Show, held at KINTEX in Ilsan-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, from March 31 to April 9.
