Genesis has offered the first public look at how its GV90 — the brand's first ultra-large electric flagship SUV — is built at its newly established production facility.
The automaker held a "Tech Brief" event Thursday (local time) at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, where it unveiled a technical film titled "Sanctuary of Fineness" — the first public screening of footage showing the GV90 being produced at the newly built Ulsan EV factory.
Jeong Seong-gi, head of Genesis Test Lab 1, said the Ulsan EV factory represents the culmination of manufacturing expertise accumulated by Hyundai Motor Group, and that the role of manufacturing technology is "to deliver the same level of craftsmanship — the kind an artisan achieves by hand — to every customer on the mass-production line." He then walked attendees through the advanced processes behind the technologies embedded in the GV90.
In the press process used to form the GV90's body panels, Hyundai Motor Group introduced a 6,800-ton servo press and a precision panel inspection system to achieve the flowing curves inspired by the traditional Korean moon jar. In the body assembly process, four new joining techniques were applied — bonding aluminum, steel and other dissimilar materials in separate zones — to firmly connect a body structure with a significantly higher proportion of aluminum.
The paint process employs an automated inspection system capable of detecting microscopic surface defects at six times the resolution of the human eye, along with custom paint booths that apply a single, customer-specified color to each vehicle. In the final trim-and-finish process, the factory recreates real-world driving conditions indoors — running vehicles over rollers that simulate road irregularities and generating winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour — to verify cabin quietness.
The event also featured the world premiere of "Sanctuary of Fineness," a film capturing the GV90's actual production at the Ulsan EV factory.
The film opens in the press shop. As a narrator intones "In the beginning, Genesis," light seeps into a darkened factory floor, and the camera captures aluminum panels gradually taking shape with each stroke of the massive press.
Each panel fresh off the press receives a unique laser-etched code, and robot arms fitted with cameras scan the assembled body frame from every angle during the body assembly process — offering a glimpse of the Ulsan EV factory's automated quality system, which refines precision based on data collected at every stage of production.
The film intercuts shots of workers among the automated equipment — hands checking minute panel gaps with a dial gauge, eyes scrutinizing surfaces — alternating with the movements of robots, underscoring how cutting-edge processes and human touch together drive the pursuit of perfection.
Large, heavy interior components are then shown being fitted automatically, followed by a worker carefully attaching a horn cover to the steering wheel, as the GV90's interior gradually comes together on screen.
In the final sequence, the GV90's distinctive wing-face MLA headlamps illuminate, and the silhouette of the fully assembled vehicle standing inside the trim-and-finish factory is revealed. A closing narration states: "Everything that began in cold metal becomes one quiet perfection."
The film's soundtrack is "Jeongnyeon," a collaborative track with electronic musician Kirara that Hyundai Motor Group released Aug. 13.
The piece expresses the journey of raw iron forged through countless processes into a finished automobile. It opens with a mysterious passage evoking the boundless potential of raw material, builds in rhythm as the body takes shape, and closes with a clear, bright resolution — as if the completed vehicle is finally revealed.
Heo Gwang-hun, executive vice president of Genesis development, said the technology in the GV90 "is the result of the entire company setting new standards together — not just in research and development, but across product planning, production, quality, procurement and sales." He added that Genesis would "continue the challenge of making every moment a customer encounters the car a special experience."
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