Hyundai and Kia just revealed theirs Active Air Skirt (AAS) technology. : reduces aerodynamic drag when driving at high speed, and at the same time improves the range, performance and driving experience of the Korean group’s electric vehicles.

Hyundai and Kia: discreet but effective technology

In an increasingly crowded electric vehicle market, range and performance are key elements for manufacturers that allow them to stand out from the competition. To achieve this, any optimization of the car’s aerodynamic characteristics is a good idea: in practice, the AAS system from Hyundai and Kia allowsimprove drag coefficient by 2.8%during tests of the Korean Genesis GV60 prototype group.
The Active Air Skirt system has a shape two air dampers active, installed between the front bumper and the front wheels of the car. They are hidden by default, but unfold when the car exceeds speed. 80 km/hwhen the aerodynamic resistance becomes greater than the rolling resistance, and are again maintained when the car is moving at a speed of less than 70 km/h.
AAS allows control the air flow entering the front part of the car, in the lower part of the bumper, to reduce turbulence around the wheels This allows reduce the drag coefficient (Cd or Cx), which is the coefficient of air resistance acting in the direction opposite to the movement of the vehicle.

Actively optimize aerodynamics

The shape of the AAS shields is determined by the characteristics of the E-GMP platform of Hyundai group electric vehicles: in fact, due to the flat floor of the platform, it is necessary to cover only the front part of the tires, and not the entire width of the car.
In their tests, Hyundai and Kia announced that they were reduces the drag coefficient by 0.008an improvement of 2.8%, which corresponds in practice the gain in autonomy is about 6 km. In addition to energy consumption, the Active Air Skirt system also improves the car’s downforce and therefore its performance and stability at high speeds: it can operate at speeds above 200 km/h thanks to a specially developed rubber material.
“This technology is expected to have a greater impact on models such as SUVs, where it is difficult to improve aerodynamic performance. We will continue to work on improving the ride quality and stability of electric vehicles through aerodynamic improvements.”– says Sun Hyung Cho, vice president and head of Hyundai Motor Group’s mobile body development group.

The Active Air Skirt technology has been the subject of patent applications in South Korea and the United States, and should soon be installed on production cars. It complements other aerodynamic devices on Hyundai and Kia models, such as rear spoilers, active air louvers or even wheel air curtains. Thanks to this aerodynamic work, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 exhibits a Cd of 0.21, one of the most efficient on the market.

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