This Video Shows the First Car Hyundai Ever Created

Hyundai's latest heritage video shows the story of the Pony, the automaker's first independently designed and manufactured car. Introduced in 1975 and designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Pony became South Korea's first mass-produced car.

Before the Pony, Hyundai assembled and sold the Ford Cortina under license starting in 1968. The video below features interviews with the Pony's original designer and a former Hyundai president, who connects the car's early engineering to the technology Hyundai builds today.

From Blueprint to Road

Former British Leyland engineer George Turnbull led development, using Mitsubishi engines and transmissions along with some Ford Cortina parts.

Pickup, wagon, and hatchback versions followed over the next several years, and the Pony was exported to international markets including the UK, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

A National Icon

The car carried cultural weight in Korea. By 1976, the Pony held 44% of the country's domestic passenger car market and became the first "my car" for many Korean households.

Hyundai Founding Chairman Ju-yung Chung saw the car as central to rebuilding Korea's economy after the Korean War, pursuing a vision he described as "a desire for better."