It took 15 years for the hearing-impaired to attain rights to drive a taxi in Korea. Yet most are still oblivious to the fact. As Hyundai Motor Group dominating 90% of market share in the Korean taxi industry, it was only natural for us to turn to taxi for our next campaign.

We found the inspiration for "The Quiet Taxi" project in the back seat of Mr. Lee’s car, whose daughter had left him a letter. We were able to assist Mr. Lee, who recently became a taxi driver despite his hearing impairment, with technology that converted sounds into tactile and visual cues. With Hyundai Motor Group’s technology, the first deaf taxi travels through Seoul even at this very moment.

Production of the taxi itself and filming was completed within a budget of 440 million won, and Hyundai Motor Group’s message of ‘Freedom of Mobility’ for all was successfully delivered.

Deaf drivers experience a much higher level of fatigue than average, because the reliance on their vision is higher. The fact that they cannot tell the direction of the sound can also cause misunderstanding and other problems on the road.

Focusing on the relatively heightened sense of sight and touch deaf drivers possess, all audio signal is detected and analyzed using audio sensors on the outside and translated into tactile and visual cues.

AVC technology visualizes external and internal audio stimuli to LED on the steering wheel, and HUD pictograms. This allows driver to accurately identify the type of sound, and where it is coming from, as well as receiving navigational information. ATC technology translates the distances to obstacles on the road through vibrations, and delivers it through the steering wheel.

In Korea, taxi driver is a job that many elderly people chooses as their second career after they retire from their first. As such, it is an societal issue many people identify with, but the issue of deafness is something else entirely.

That is because most people are not even aware of the fact that deaf people can drive. That is why we chose Mr. Lee Dae-ho, who despite his impairment chose this vocation, and the letter his daughter left for his customers in the back of his taxi, to be the central theme of our campaign.

The key message was this – “Hyundai Motor Group looks forward to the future, where 300,000 hearing-impaired people of Korea are given new opportunities, through our technologies.” We believe the viral success of The Quiet Taxi was achieved by providing hearing-impaired people with solutions that matter to them the most.

- The technology behind The Quiet Taxi was an idea that was awarded at Hyundai Motor Group’s R&D Idea Festival, and was developed into The Quiet Taxi after a year of production.

- Through in-depth interviews with deaf drivers, the technology was refined in such way that it would not be a distraction but an assistance. It received much praise for its usefulness, even to non-deaf drivers.

- Hyundai Motor Group’s vision is freedom of mobility for all. As #1 car manufacturer in Korea, Hyundai Motor Group realized the said vision by developing technology to assist the hearing-drivers for first time in Korea. By actualizing the vision into a taxi, instead of just prototyping it, people are able to experience The Quiet Taxi within Seoul.

- The Quiet Taxi is more than just a convenience for the deaf; it is a door to opportunities previously inaccessible to them. Due to stigma around deafness, it had always been difficult for deaf people to find jobs relating to driving.

- Mr. Lee Dae-ho is currently driving The Quiet Taxi, and 90% of passengers have shown willingness to ride again.

- 97% of YouTube comments are positive, and is estimated to have affected Hyundai Motor Group’s brand image in a positive way. 31% of comments have directly indicated that their next vehicle purchase will be from Hyundai.

- Voluntarily exposed on personal social media and communities – 6.61 million times.

- The campaign film also made appearance organically on major news channels during prime time (KBS, SBS, etc) and was exposed on Korea's 3 biggest websites' main page. Exposed on more than 189 local publications, and 58 publications internationally.

- Deaf-driven taxi, which began with The Quiet Taxi, is now a fleet of 12.