In today's platform for everyone, the platform in the field of automobile manufacturing is not a new concept, Volkswagen's MQB, Toyota's TNGA, Mercedes-Benz's MFA, BMW's UKL... Any car company has its own platform, but there are differences in technical strength.
With the rapid development of automotive technology, an excellent platform can now cover a complete system of automobile design trends, production processes, manufacturing processes, quality control, etc., and it is also the embodiment of an enterprise's car-making concept.
For automakers, platform-based car manufacturing means shortening the research and development cycle and improving production efficiency, and the maturity of the platform is also an important indicator to measure their technical level. For consumers, the stability and reliability of platform-based car manufacturing is a strong guarantee for vehicle quality, and the dividend of car cost reduction will eventually be reflected in the terminal.
Beijing Hyundai, which has focused on technological upgrading in the past two years, is also accelerating the pace of upgrading its product platform, and under the empowerment of the modern i-GMP platform, the star products such as the tenth generation Sonata, the seventh generation Elantra, and the fifth generation Tucson L have achieved all-round optimization in terms of design, safety, performance, and control, thus raising the driving quality to a new height.
Continuous breakthroughs, three generations of evolution to achieve five core advantages
As one of the world's top five automotive groups, Hyundai Motor has been sparing no effort in the development and investment of modular platforms. In 2008, hyundai motor launched the first generation of platform to achieve the standardization and sharing of modules such as engine compartment, chassis, appearance and interior, etc., and since then Hyundai's platform concept has begun to show its embryonic form. In 2015, Hyundai Motor launched the second generation platform, which not only expanded the scope of application of standard parts, but also became known for its high safety and high degree of completion, and the ninth generation Sonata, the new TuCson, and Lingdong, which are well known to domestic consumers, are equipped with the platform. These models have won 5 stars in international authoritative safety evaluations such as NHTSA, and their excellent quality has been recognized by the global market.
Based on the advantages of the first two generations of platforms, in 2019, Hyundai Motor once again broke through innovation and developed a third-generation platform - i-GMP (innovative-Global Modular architecture Platform). The platform integrates the latest modular technology of Hyundai Motor, takes into account the development of a variety of models, and has made innovative changes in five major areas such as safety, lightweight, comfort, energy efficiency, and handling, which can greatly improve the basic performance of vehicles, and strive to comprehensively enhance product competitiveness and reshape brand value in the accelerated car-making reform.
Empowering products, excellent platforms open up a new competitive landscape
How powerful is the overhauled i-GMP platform? And what experience upgrades can it bring to consumers? We can look at the models produced and designed based on the platform.
Taking Beijing Hyundai 10th Generation Sonata as an example, as the first product equipped with the successful use of the i-GMP platform, the 10th Generation Sonata has completed the transformation from "idol faction" to "high-value strength faction" under the blessing of the new platform, and thus brought Beijing Hyundai to a new competitive platform.
When it comes to the 10th Sonata, the most impressive thing is its stunning design style. Its low-lying, sporty avant-garde shape is derived from the technical support of the i-GMP platform. It is understood that in order to meet the needs of the younger generation of consumer groups for sports and personality, Hyundai Motor has focused on a more sporty proportion at the beginning of the development of the i-GMP platform, thus establishing the idea of short front suspension and long wheelbase, and through the low center of gravity and engine backward movement, it provides a better gene for future models in sports design. It is thanks to this bold innovation that the visual center of gravity of the tenth generation Sonata is located at the rear of the body, resulting in a more stable and vibrant look.
In terms of safety that consumers are generally concerned about, the i-GMP platform has comprehensively improved the body strength while achieving lightweight, and has increased the average strength of the body by more than 10% by optimizing the body skeleton structure, applying a large number of hot stamping processes, and using ultra-high tension steel in the main position, which has reduced the body weight of the tenth generation Sonata by more than 75 kg compared with the previous generation. At the same time, the engine compartment of the multi-skeleton structure can effectively disperse the impact force, which can protect passengers in the event of a collision and reduce the impact on the opposing vehicle.
Space and comfort are also one of the decisive factors that make Chinese consumers pay. The i-GMP platform adjusts the suspension system in front of the front wheels to create a long wheelbase design style, which shortens the front suspension of the tenth generation Sonata by 20mm and the wheelbase to 2890mm, which is not only more dynamic and flexible in appearance, but also more spacious in space, fully meeting the needs of Chinese consumers for rear seating comfort. The various lower-mounted designs keep the interior floor as flat as possible, which greatly improves the utilization of space in the car.
Due to the redesign of the body structure, the i-GMP platform also achieves a lower wind resistance coefficient while maintaining the strength of the body. In the actual driving experience, due to the i-GMP platform to optimize the layout of the powertrain, the heavy parts are moved to the center of the body, combined with the low center design, the inertia torque is effectively reduced, the athletic performance is improved, and the vehicle's driving attitude during lane changes, turns, acceleration and sharp braking is also more stable, ensuring the occupants' riding comfort.
The i-GMP platform is an innovative leap forward in hyundai's automotive platform technology, and it also gives Beijing Hyundai a head start in the constantly upgrading "platform inner volume". In addition to the 10th generation Sonata, Beijing Hyundai's 7th generation Elantra and 5th generation Tucson L have also achieved a significant leap in product design, driving safety, and power performance under the technical empowerment of the new platform, returning to the first echelon of their respective market segments. In the future, models based on the i-GMP platform will increasingly appear in the product camp of Beijing Hyundai, bringing a higher quality travel experience to Chinese consumers and helping the steady implementation of Beijing Hyundai's "HSMART+" technology brand strategy.