Acko Drive Best Of Show At 2025 Auto Expo: Hyundai Wins Best Design Of The Show

The Acko Drive Best Of Show trophy for the Best Design of the show was bagged by Hyundai for its very interesting and unexpected Micromobility concepts that the company showcased. The Hyundai concepts were designed and executed as part of a design study for TVS, to address last mile connectivity needs. The two concepts – a 3-wheeler rickshaw and a 4 wheeler people mover – were made specifically to ensure comfort and convenience of both the driver and the passengers. And they are designed using Indian conditions as the case requirement. They also use new and innovative manufacturing techniques that see noe requirement of stamped body panels - this bringing down the cost of manufacturing significantly. They also use a light aluminium composite for their construction to keep weight down, and body structural strength up. The body has been designed to be crash absorbant at the front, and the side panels can be retrofitted with a closed cabin or open skeleton design concept as optional. The two vehicles also have a relatively high roof, to afford easy ingress and egress. The additional innovation is a manual height adjustment to the suspension of the three-wheeler concept - in case of flooding or water logging type conditions seen during the monsoon. They also have a screen in front in between their LED headlights that can be used to communicate messages to potential passengers, passers-by or other vehicles in traffic. The larger vehicle also has a foldable seat so a wheelchair can easily be rolled in to the passenger space at the rear, making it more inclusive. 

SangYup Lee, Global Design Head, Hyundai and Genesis, and his team were responsible for both these products. We got a chance to catch up with him and ask him where the inspiration for these two concepts came from. He said, “This is what I like about being a designer because the role of a designer in one word is somebody who helps others. And this is a great contribution as a designer. Last mile mobility, accessibility, inclusivity. Sometimes you would work on a very expensive supercar but I get more excited to have a bare minimum, help others mobility and I think this is a very exciting project for me.” TVS is said to be assessing the products and there may be some way forward in the future on actually manufacturing either or both vehicles. The collaborative nature of the project also impressed our jury, as did the innovation, design itself, use of new technologies, and the fact that they are if course electric. They are a design study at the moment and so no specifications are available at this time, though the hope is TVS will manufacture them!

The AckoDrive Best Of Show are a set of awards conceptualised by Acko Drive’s editor-in-chief, Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, at a previous edition of the expo over a decade ago. They acknowledge and reward the exhibitors at the Auto Expo, who put in a lot of hard work, time, planning, money, and energy to ensure that the consumers notice their brand and they get a chance to showcase new technologies, designs, services and products. This year the jury comprised noted automotive journalists like Renuka Kripalani, Yogendra Singh Pratap, Hani Mustafa, Siddharth Vinayak Patankar and team members from Acko Drive for the various categories. They unanimously adjudged the two concepts as the Best of the Show. Other nominees were the Tata Sierra and Avinya X concept, Kia EV6 facelift, BYD Sealion 7, VinFast VF-7, TVS iQube Vision, Suzuki e-Access, Hero Xoom 160, BMW F 450 GS concept, Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA-Class, and Maruti Suzuki e VITARA.