Five years after debuting at CES 2018, Hyundai’s e-Corner technology is closer to reality. Following its most recent appearance at CES 2021, the system was on display at last week’s show. And this time around, rather than building a dedicated prototype to showcase the tech, the automaker’s Mobis arm instead integrated e-Corner into an Ioniq 5 EV.
As you can see from the video the Hyundai shared (via Autoblog), the module, much like the Hummer EV’s “CrabWalk” functionality, allows a car’s wheels to turn in ways they can’t in a vehicle with a traditional suspension system. Subsequently, that allows you to complete maneuvers you can’t in other vehicles. Parallel parking, for instance, is as easy as turning the wheels 90 degrees and driving the car horizontally. Less practical but just as cool, e-Corner also enables cars to move diagonally and rotate on the spot. It’s even possible to pull off a pivot turn.
It will likely be another few years before e-Corner modules start showing up in production vehicles. In 2021, Hyundai Mobis said it was planning to begin rolling out the technology in 2025. That said, it wouldn’t be surprising to see other automakers incorporate the technology into their cars since the division produces parts for other companies, not just Hyundai.