Hyundai Motor Group’s Supernal Unveils eVTOL Vehicle Cabin Concept at 2022 Farnborough International Airshow
Supernal (the Company) today revealed its initial eVTOL vehicle cabin concept at Farnborough International Airshow, providing the first look at how Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) is integrating automotive capabilities to develop the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) market.
Supernal partnered with the Group’s design studios to create the cabin concept as the Company works to certify its eVTOL vehicle for commercial use in the United States starting in 2028 – and in the E.U. and U.K. shortly after. Beyond the vehicle, Supernal is collaborating with external partners and the Group’s more than 50 affiliates – which span automobiles, automotive parts, construction, robotics and autonomous driving – to responsibly co-create the expansive AAM value chain.
“In order for Advanced Air Mobility to become a wide-spread mode of transportation, every detail – from the passenger experience to regulations and infrastructure – needs to be addressed from the start and work in lockstep with one another,” said Jaiwon Shin, President of Hyundai Motor Group and CEO of Supernal. “Leveraging Hyundai Motor Group’s mobility capabilities, Supernal is investing time and resources upfront to ensure the industry can scale to the masses in the coming decades and reach its exciting potential.”
Harnessing Automotive Design
Supernal’s five-seat cabin concept provides clues to how the Company is harnessing automotive design processes and materials – while meeting commercial aviation’s highest safety standards – to optimize the AAM passenger experience and price-point. The design embodies biomimicry philosophy – a butterfly in this case – and the Company’s pillars of safety above all, human-centered design and environmental responsibility.
“Supernal is partnering with Hyundai Motor Group’s top automotive designers to develop our eVTOL vehicle for manufacturability and wide-spread public acceptance,” Shin added. “We are taking the time to create a safe, light-weight commercial eVTOL that provides our future passengers with the security and comfort they find in their own cars.”
The team of engineers and designers utilized the automotive industry’s reductive design approach to create the light-weight interior cabin, which is made of forged carbon fiber. Ergonomically contoured seats offer a cocoon-like environment for passengers. Deployable seat consoles mimic automobile center consoles and provide a charging station and stowage compartment for personal items. Grab handles built into the cabin doors and seatbacks assist with ingress and egress. A combination of lighting – including overhead lights inspired by automobile sunroofs – adjusts with the various stages of flight to emulate a “light therapy” effect. The cabin layout draws on automotive space innovation with a minimized bulkhead, which allows for generous headroom and package functionalities.
With sustainability as a priority, the cabin concept incorporates materials such as advanced recyclable carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic, durable plant-based leather, recycled plastic fabric and responsibly sourced woods. The seat frame also utilizes excess raw material from the airframe manufacturing process.
“The Supernal eVTOL vehicle draws on the competence of the Hyundai Motor Group and the skillset of experienced automotive designers, which allowed us to develop a new air mobility concept that is not only safe and rational but also highly emotional,” said Luc Donckerwolke, Chief Creative Officer of Hyundai Motor Group.
Developing Air Mobility Beyond Urban Markets
The Group is leveraging its expansive mobility and mobility-enabling capabilities to develop a family of electric air vehicles, as well as the surrounding value chain.
Complementing U.S.-based Supernal’s battery-powered eVTOL vehicle designed for intra-city passenger journeys starting in 2028, the Group’s Korea-based division (the Division) focused on Regional Air Mobility is developing a hydrogen-powered mid-sized vehicle for regional – city-to-city – cargo and passenger journeys. The Division plans to launch service of its hydrogen vehicle in the 2030s.
Supernal and the Division are partnering with the Group’s manufacturing innovation teams across the globe to create a robust high-rate, high-quality AAM manufacturing process that will produce electric air vehicles at scale – at an increasingly affordable price-point – over the coming decades.
“Hyundai Motor Group is working to leverage synergies between automotive’s high-rate manufacturing capabilities and aerospace’s high certification standards to build the foundation for everyday use of passenger and cargo air vehicles,” Shin said.
2022 Farnborough International Airshow
Supernal’s eVTOL vehicle cabin concept is on display at the Farnborough International Airshow (Exhibit Hall 1, Booth 1307). Click here to follow the Company’s on-site activities. Click here to access the Company’s media kit.
About Supernal
Supernal (Su·per·nal) is a U.S.-based mobility service provider on a mission to redefine how people move, connect, and live. We are developing an Advanced Air Mobility eVTOL vehicle and working to responsibly co-create the supporting ecosystem and integrate it into existing transit options. As part of Hyundai Motor Group, we are both a new business and an established company, with plans to harness our automotive manufacturing heritage to make Advanced Air Mobility accessible to the masses. Visit www.supernal.aero for more information and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai Motor Group is a global enterprise that has created a value chain based on mobility, steel, and construction, as well as logistics, finance, IT, and service. With about 250,000 employees worldwide, the Group’s mobility brands include Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. Armed with creative thinking, cooperative communication and the will to take on any challenges, we strive to create a better future for all. More information about Hyundai Motor Group, please see: www.hyundaimotorgroup.com.
