Hyundai Motor(005380) and Kia(000270) said on the 23rd they opened "UX Studio Shanghai," a user experience (UX) research hub in Jing'an District, Shanghai, to advance China-specific automotive UX research.
The newly opened UX Studio Shanghai relocated from the previous UX studio in Huangpu District to an area with higher foot traffic to improve customer access.
The UX studio is a research hub designed to study the rapidly changing Chinese smart mobility market and consumer trends, analyze the findings, and apply them to next-generation mobility product development.
Hyundai Motor and Kia opened the UX studio in light of the rapid spread of smart mobility experiences in China, backed by the world's top-tier digital ecosystem and high technology acceptance.
Here, the team will study local customers' lifestyles and mobility experiences and reflect them in actual products and UX design from the early stages of next-generation vehicle development, including artificial intelligence–driven vehicles (AIDV).
To that end, Hyundai Motor and Kia plan to collaborate with local academic institutions, including the School of Management at Fudan University, to study how social and cultural trends affect mobility experiences.
UX Studio Shanghai is a three-story building consisting of an Open Lab, a customer-accessible experience space, and an Advanced Lab, a dedicated research area.
The Open Lab includes three areas: ▲ UX Explorer Zone ▲ UX Test Zone ▲ UX Archive Zone. In addition to exhibits, visitors can experience UX under development and share feedback with researchers.
The Advanced Lab is where pre-recruited research participants work with researchers to validate UX projects, and it includes ▲ a simulation room ▲ a feature development room ▲ a UX canvas.
It conducts research on advanced HMI that is difficult to perform in real road environments, including advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and carries out various joint studies to reflect customer feedback in products.
A Hyundai Motor and Kia official said, "We will reflect customer insights gained in the Chinese market from the early stages of product development to deliver a differentiated mobility experience in the global market."