- A new app developed by Hyundai and Kia lets drivers adjust the performance of their electric cars from a smartphone.
- The app can control and change seven different performance parameters, from maximum torque to energy regeneration.
- Users can share their personal setups with other drivers.
Hyundai Motor Group has created what it calls "smartphone electric-vehicle pairing-based performance-adjustment technology." That's a bit of a mouthful, eh? We'll give you the CliffsNotes version. Basically, Hyundai has developed a smartphone app from which users can customize and control the features and performance of their electric vehicle, and it's something that will be available to customers in the near future.
Yes, you'll be able to tune the performance of your electric car from your phone. Through the app, you can adjust seven performance fields: maximum torque output; top speed; the ignition, acceleration, and deceleration "abilities"' responsiveness; regenerative braking; and the climate-control system's energy usage. Not only can a user change these settings on a personal car, but the app will work for rentals or vehicles in car-sharing services; users just have to download their profiles from the cloud.
In addition to letting drivers provide their own settings, the app can recommend specific setups to promote better efficiency, for better performance, and even different setups for specific kinds of roads. Users will also be able to share their personal setups with other people online and thus try out the ones created by others. Hyundai says that it will use "blockchain technology" so there are no security issues when users share their custom setups, whatever that means.
Hyundai says that this tech is able to be implemented on electric cars and not internal-combustion ones because of the "distinctive properties" of EVs and because "altering performance doesn't change the carbon footprint" of the cars. Hyundai Motor Group has 23 electric vehicles coming out by 2025, and a number are already on sale, among them the Hyundai Kona Electric and the new Kia Soul EV. This app will be rolled out in the future for Hyundai and Kia vehicles, but there's no word as to when or whether it will be offered in the United States.
Daniel Golson has been an avid car enthusiast since he was a toddler, and after spending a few years studying automotive design in college, he made the jump to Car and Driver in 2016. When not evangelizing about four-door coupes, he can be found watching The Real Housewives with his two cats.
