What Hyundai's New Concept EV Tells Us About Their Strategy

It’s not unexpected for an automaker to reveal a new concept vehicle at a high-concept industry event. Given that IAA Mobility 2025 is currently taking place in Munich, car enthusiasts might expect to see some interesting proofs of concept there — and, sure enough, Hyundai chose that occasion to show off the Concept THREE, a compact EV designed to demonstrate potential features in upcoming Ioniq vehicles.

In their announcement, Hyundai noted this vehicle’s status as Ioniq’s first compact EV. That it made its debut in Munich is no coincidence; this was part of a larger effort by Hyundai to tout vehicles coming to the European market. While it may frustrate some Stateside EV enthusiasts, the market for compact and subcompact EVs seems to be something that exists overseas rather than in the U.S.

“Concept THREE represents the next step in Hyundai Motor’s electrification journey,” said Xavier Martinet, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe, in a statement. “With its compact dimensions and Art of Steel design language, it embodies our vision of delivering mobility that is practical, accessible and emotionally resonant.”

Given that BYD launched the Dolphin Surf in the European market earlier this year, the announcement of Concept THREE looks like Hyundai’s statement of intent in challenging them in that segment of the market. But selling smaller EVs in Europe is only one part of a much larger strategy – and one that Hyundai’s head of design expanded on in a recent interview.

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As Simon Loasby explained, having a wide variety of styles and designs on hand is intentional, to better appeal to a wider array of car buyers. “We can do a box Santa Fe and we can do a Minecraft-car Ioniq 5, we can do a streamline Ioniq 6, and people say ‘Hyundai, that’s refreshing,’ because they’re not all looking the same,” Loasby told Dezeen’s Nat Barker. Is that strategy working? The company had a better 2025 than expected, and sales from Hyundai Motor America in July 2025 were up 15% from the previous July.

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Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…