Hyundai Motor Group Opens UX Studio Shanghai to Shape Future Mobility Experiences in China
Hyundai Motor Group opened UX Studio Shanghai, a user experience research hub in Jing'an district, to deepen local insights and drive global innovation in smart, connected mobility.
- 2026
What Happened
Hyundai Motor Group has opened UX Studio Shanghai, a dedicated user experience research hub located in Shanghai's Jing'an district. The facility aims to deepen the Group's engagement with China's smart mobility market and translate emerging user insights into global innovation. This marks the execution of the Group's 'In China, For China, To Global' strategy, shifting from vision to concrete action.
“Our open co-creation space shifts 'In China, For China, To Global' strategy from vision to execution, showing how multinational automakers can advance localization in the era of smart, electrified mobility.”
The studio is structured as a three-story building housing two collaborative spaces: an Open Lab and an Advanced Lab. The Open Lab features three zones — UX Explorer, UX Test, and UX Archive — where visitors can experience emerging mobility technologies. The Advanced Lab is a dedicated space for invited users, equipped with a flexible UX study buck and high-fidelity simulation platform for in-depth user research and co-development.
UX Studio Shanghai prioritizes end-to-end localization, led by local experts who understand Chinese driving behaviors and cultural nuances. It partners with top-tier academic institutions such as the School of Management at Fudan University to analyze social trends shaping modern mobility. Dedicated research programs focus on everyday use cases including family travel with multiple children, female driver commuting experiences, and short-distance urban transportation.
The insights from Shanghai will feed directly into the Group's global R&D network, alongside inputs from its other UX studios in Seoul, Frankfurt, and Irvine. This creates a two-way innovation cycle: global resources empower local breakthroughs, and localized innovations drive global advancement. By positioning Shanghai as a key innovation hub, the Group ensures that Chinese consumer insights help shape mobility experiences for global customers.
Why this matters
The studio enables Hyundai to tailor mobility experiences to Chinese consumers, who are early adopters of multi-screen interaction and voice control. By integrating local insights into global R&D, the Group strengthens its competitive edge in China's fast-evolving smart mobility market. This move affects Chinese consumers and the Group's global product development.
Terms in This Story
- SDV
- Software-Defined Vehicle; a vehicle whose features and functions are primarily enabled through software rather than hardware.
- HMI
- Human-Machine Interface; the dashboard and controls through which a driver interacts with a vehicle.
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