Not all motorists can give a specific answer to the question of what the term "restyling" means. This word often flashes in articles on automotive topics and news feeds.

Classic restyling is a modification and updating of either external or internal elements of a car. This is done in order to improve the design and recognition of a particular brand of car. But not only the changes that the manufacturer makes can be considered restyling. This update has its own nuances, which will be described in this article.

In what cases is restyling applied?

Typically, automakers are engaged in making changes to the interior or exterior of the most running models every 3-4 years. In various cases, the update affects different elements of the car. As a rule, no changes are made to the architecture of the body. Restyling is used for the following reasons:

• Updating the manufacturer's lineup.
• Making changes to cars with an outdated design.
• Refinement taking into account the errors of the previous version of the body.
• Rebranding or repositioning.

Restyling is much cheaper than the development and creation of a radically new model. The chassis and the main systems of the car remain unchanged. Only the visual component is corrected. That is, inside it is the same car, but from the outside it looks like a completely different car. As a rule, the front of the car undergoes the most changes, so that it is noticeable that the model has been updated.

Why not make a new car?

The creation of a new model costs the concern a huge amount, which negatively affects the cost. Economically, it is much more profitable to modify an already released model and return it to the market. Consumers always positively perceive such modifications of cars that have already become boring over the years. The design update will attract new customers and accelerate the return on investment in the development of the model. That's why it's much easier to restyle an already created car.

What updates does the car restyling provide?

As a rule, restyling involves changing only the elements of the exterior and interior of the car. 3-4 years after the release of the car on the market, the concern updates its appearance. Modifications involve changes to body kits, headlights and other body elements. Also, elements of the car interior may be subject to changes.

But the architecture of the body in most cases is not updated. After all, if you change the body or its elements, such as doors or hood, then you need to completely change the attachment points on the car body. Therefore, such updates are extremely rare, performing restyling. This will cause additional costs, which the manufacturer prefers to avoid.

In the cabin, you can change the upholstery or dashboard, as well as other decorative elements. Vehicle electronics can also be supplemented with new firmware or an updated navigation system.

What other changes can restyling bring?

The architecture of the car, as a rule, is not updated during restyling, they also prefer to leave the running system and the main systems of the car unchanged. But sometimes concerns retain the wheelbase, while changing the length of the car. In some cases, the interior of the machine may also be modified. For example, modifications may affect the suspension, brakes or other technical systems of the vehicle. But such changes are rarely made, as they entail additional costs for changing the architecture of the car.

Types of restyling

There are several different types of restyling, depending on the elements that are being changed:

• External restyling makes changes to the design of the car. For example, they modify the bumper, grille, headlights or wheels.
• Internal restyling complements the interior of the car, adds new elements or eliminates old flaws.

Depending on the conditions under which the car is restyling, it can be divided into two categories.

Unscheduled restyling is used if a fresh car model has obvious flaws. Also, unscheduled restyling can be used if potential buyers are dissatisfied with the released model, and then it goes for revision.

Planned restyling. Most often occurs when a model released 3-4 years ago is no longer sold. The adjustments made by restyling make it more modern in appearance. Then the automaker returns the modified version to the market, where, as planned, the buyer should pay attention to it, and sales of the model will increase again.

Restyling examples

And now let's take a look at some examples of restyling on popular car models. First of all, let's pay attention to the restyling of the Ford Focus.

The developers of the Ford company changed this model in 2015 very successfully indeed. The car not only acquired an attractive appearance, but also became more comfortable to use. This is largely due to noticeable changes in the equipment of the car's electronics. Also, the car has acquired a large selection of engines available for installation, which allows each buyer to choose the ideal ratio of power and price of a car.

Among more modern models, let's pay attention to the restyling of the Kia Rio. This car also received a lot of significant changes. In the appearance of the car, you can immediately notice new alloy wheels, a modified radiator grille, as well as an updated optics design. The developers have not forgotten about the interior of the car. Both passengers and drivers will certainly like the high-quality interior materials and its stylish appearance.

And finally, we present you the restyling of the Toyota Prius. This is definitely a vivid example of how the company strives to make its cars as interesting as possible for buyers. Even the restyling photo of this model immediately makes it clear that we have a completely different car in front of us, which took only the main points of the concept of this model from the original version. The design has become more futuristic and stylish. The powerful hybrid engine of the novelty perfectly complements all the innovations.

Summing up

The article talked about what restyling is, when it is applied and what changes it makes. Restyling is one way for concerns to remain competitive and make a profit by attracting new car enthusiasts. A car that has performed well changes its appearance, and this attracts new buyers. This trend is characteristic not only of the domestic automotive market. This tactic is used by concerns everywhere.

Recently, the restyling of the model brings more and more changes that are of high importance. In an attempt to please the client, restyled models not only acquire a more aggressive appearance, but are also supplemented with elements, moldings, and in some cases even changes in the internal mechanisms of the car.

Restyling is in many ways reminiscent of tuning - this is the same change in the external parameters of a car, but made even before purchase. Of course, design updates are almost always welcomed by buyers.

But still, restyling is not only a change in appearance by the manufacturer. Correcting old shortcomings, updating characteristics, new engine modifications, changing the dashboard backlight - any change in a car can be called restyling.

Some of them are produced by the automakers themselves, some changes are brought directly to the car by the owners. Even the installation of a spoiler or the replacement of discs by the owner - all this can be called restyling of the car.

Most motorists were not familiar with such a concept as restyling. The first mention of it came to us with the advent of new imported cars, which differed significantly from domestic ones in the style of forming a car as a product. To put it quite simply, this is an update of a model, or a whole range from the manufacturer's model segment. But, do not think that only specialized car factories can deal with car restyling, no, partly the update functions are taken over by well-known car studios that are engaged in custom-made tuning and restyling of cars.

In America and Europe, restyling is understood as the modernization of the exterior, interior, that is, this is the total percentage of car improvement. Changes in technical terms are referred to only as tuning. It is only with us that a single name has been assigned to any modernization of the machine. For example, attaching a new body kit to the domestic Zhiguli, in our area is considered tuning. Although according to the international classification system, this is just styling or restyling.

Therefore, do not assume that tuning and restyling are synonymous. A synonym for restyling is more suitable expression like facelift. That is, literally understood as installing more powerful bumpers, changing the texture of the radiator, updating the shape of the optics. It is thanks to such transformations that the appearance of cars becomes aggressive and bright, in any case, it is in this plane that the world's leading manufacturers are currently moving forward.

There are two main types or even types that differ depending on the period. So:

• 1. Unscheduled
• 2. Scheduled

Often we meet exactly the planned one, which the concern carries out several years after the new model enters the market. But, do not assume that every car is going through changes. It is quite possible that after three or four years, the company will simply offer a new generation, which simply cannot be considered a restyling in terms of the amount of work done.

For example, if you look at the history of Volkswagen Golf production, we see that more than seven generations have already been produced, and restyling was carried out at different periods. As a rule, this concerned only partial changes, and the main style and image were preserved. Somewhere they added stampings, increased the body kit of the bumper, corrected the grille. That is, these are the changes that are minimal and barely noticeable in comparison with its predecessor.

The so-called unscheduled restyling, according to it, one can now give a very well-known example of such an update based on the Honda Civic model. When a new generation comes out, but potential buyers are outraged by the degraded design, the changed format, which completely repels the car. Therefore, the manufacturer is forced to go to all sorts of tricks, and literally in a year, or even less, create an unscheduled restyling. That is, to change the car more globally, to please customers, in order to increase the attractiveness of their product.

From the above, it can be emphasized that restyling, in any form, is a natural part of the development of any manufacturer. The only exceptions can be made by domestic concerns, because if you look, besides the VAZ 2110 and VAZ Priora, it is difficult to remember something in terms of restyling.

In general, the process is natural, given that the change of generations may not necessarily occur every four years, and during this time the fashion, the attractiveness of a single car may change. Therefore, manufacturers, taking into account the numerous wishes of buyers, are obliged to carry out all sorts of changes in appearance.

Do not think that restyling can only take place in updating the appearance, often in addition to it, the manufacturer wants to offer a new line of engines, or some changes in the technical equipment of the suspension.

Even the changes that the owner personally makes to the image of his car are also restyling. For example, installing a spoiler, replacing standard "halogens" with xenon, installing body kits, all this is a course of restyling. And it is customary to somehow improve the appearance of the car, to distinguish it from the stream.

November 02, 2017 No comments

Many car companies carry out changes to fairly new models. What does restyling mean for a car and why should it be done?

Restyling (redesign, facelift) usually involves changing some elements of the vehicle's style.

In most cases, the external body kit, optics, some elements of the exterior and interior are updated. At the same time, consumers are not offered a new model, since the basic architecture and technical stuffing of the car does not change.

Why do we need restyling

Due to the limited production cycle, most models are produced within 6-8 years. However, progress, consumer tastes and fashion do not stand still and products become obsolete. Therefore, car brands every 3-4 years carry out light updates to the lineup. This allows you to refresh the appearance of cars and close the gap with recently released competing models.

The main role in restyling is played by the front of the vehicle. Manufacturers are trying to change the impression that the car makes, to make it different from the models of competitors. This is not easy to achieve, since up to 75% of design ideas are copied by brands from each other.

Why don't they release a new generation every 3 years

The problem is that each new generation requires significant investment and cost changes. The money spent should pay off during the production and sales cycle. However, even a very successful model will not be able to get the required profit in 3 years. Therefore, manufacturers prefer not to invest a lot of money in the development and production of a new generation every 3 years, but only update the appearance of the vehicle.

What does restyling mean for a car

Traditionally, restyling affects body parts, optics and body kit. 3 years after the release of the new generation, manufacturers are trying to refresh the bumper, hood, front fenders, optics and front grille, as well as optics, trunk lid, rear bumper and exhaust pipes at the rear of the car. At the same time, the new elements have the same attachment points as those that existed before restyling.

In rare cases, the facelift may touch the doors of the vehicle. However, this does not happen often, since the change usually requires modification of the door structure, which is fraught with significant costs.

Minor changes may also affect the interior of the car. Usually they affect the trim and center console. In rare cases, developers may add new electronic technologies, update information system firmware, install new sensors and a more modern navigation system.

What does not change with restyling

When restyling, the architecture of the model (chassis, body structure, etc.) never changes. Although in rare cases, the length of the car may change due to the addition of new body parts, but the wheelbase remains unchanged.

Restyling may include a change in power plants, modification of the suspension and brake system, but this happens extremely rarely. These types of upgrades usually require global technical changes, so manufacturers are reluctant to go for it. In the case of such improvements, such updates are called “deep restyling”.

You probably and constantly see names such as "", "restyling" and "redesign" on automotive sites. Many of us understand that these are updated vehicles, but few understand what they are. What do these concepts mean and why do car companies carry out some changes for fairly new car models?

Restyling is, as a rule, a change in the appearance of the car of some style elements. When restyling, not only the optics and external body kit can change, but also the metal elements of the body (hood, fenders, doors, etc.) can also change. In addition, often car companies carry out deeper vehicle upgrades, i.e. change its interior. But still, restyling is not a new model, since automakers do not change the technical stuffing of the car and its main architecture with this update.

Alternative names for restyling: facelift, redesign, styling change, mid-cycle updates

English title: face lift

Why does a car need restyling?

Most cars have a limited series production cycle. On average, one model is produced for 6-7 years. But we all know that progress does not stand still and, together with the whole world, the automotive market is changing, which also follows fashion, new trends and changing consumer tastes. Therefore, car brands try to carry out light updates to their lineup every 3-4 years. As a result, every three years we see the renewal of many new car models.

The thing is, as a rule, three years after the start of the release of a new model, many competitors also produce new cars, many of which, despite their lagging behind other brands, sometimes find themselves slightly ahead of their competitors that have not yet been updated. In order to prevent this, automakers are trying not to be late with the release of restyled models. As a rule, after 3 years the car receives major updates and is sold for another three years before it is replaced by a new model ().

A key element during restyling is the appearance of the car. The main role here, of course, is played by the front of the car. Automakers constantly want their cars to look different and not look like competing models. It's no secret that 75 percent of car brands copy design solutions from each other when creating a new model. Therefore, many cars on the modern market are very similar to each other.

Why don't car companies release another new generation 3 years after the release of a new model?

In fact, it would be logical. But it's about investment and the established cost of the model. As a rule, automobile companies spend a certain amount of investment on the development of one model, which should naturally pay off over the entire production and sales cycle. But, even a successful model will not be able to fully meet the car company's target for planned sales profits in just three years. Therefore, automakers prefer not to invest heavily in updates three years after the launch of a new model.

Traditionally, in order to update the model and improve its attractiveness, the car is restyled - a change in style that gives the car a new look. But this does not require large investments in development.

What changes in the car during restyling?

On the picture (before restyling). Below you can see how the model looks after the update.

Facelift (restyling) is usually associated with body parts, optics and body kit. As a rule, manufacturers, three years after the start of production of a new generation of a car, are trying to change from the front: bumpers, front fenders, hood, grille and optics. In the rear of the car, many body parts, also during restyling, receive some updates (trunk lid, rear optics, exhaust pipes and rear bumper sometimes change). But despite this, most of the new parts and components use the same attachment points that were used before the restyling.

restyling in the back of W212 held in 2012. The car has changed a lot

In addition, after the facelift in the car, the doors may change. But this doesn't happen often. Indeed, to change the style of doors, it is necessary to change their design, which is naturally associated with high costs. Therefore, most often the doors in the updated models remain the same.

Also, when preparing a restyling of a car, designers like to change the exterior trim of the body (moldings, chrome parts and model logos).

Including when redesigning, three years after the release of the car, designers and engineers can change the style of the interior.

But then again, the interior, as a rule, does not change significantly. The maximum that changes is the interior trim material, the center console trim. Sometimes the manufacturer may add a new interior trim to the restyled model. For example, add wood panels instead of aluminum or vice versa. Sometimes designers, already on updated cars, change dashboards. But this is rare. As a rule, automakers try to keep the old dashboard when facelifting. After all, to change the tidy, huge costs are required.

Also, sometimes during restyling, the car receives new electronic technologies, new sensors and a new navigation system. Some automakers, if necessary, can also change the software firmware of infotainment systems.

What, as a rule, does not change during restyling?

Basically, when restyling, the manufacturer does not touch the architecture of the model. That is, with this update, the changes do not affect the structure of the body, chassis, etc. details. This means that during the renewal of the car in the middle of the serial production cycle (within one generation), the roof of the car, the rear fenders and, of course, the body as a whole do not change. Although sometimes, when updating a model, its length may change due to new body parts. But, as a rule, when restyling, the wheelbase (the distance between the axles of the front and rear wheels) does not change. Of course, there are sometimes exceptions in the market when the wheelbase changes during the facelift. But this is more likely the exception than the rule.

Does the mechanical part of the restyled car change?

A model update in the middle of a production cycle (3-4 years) often includes a change in powertrains (new engine models may appear). Sometimes car companies change the braking system of a car or even change the suspension device. But this happens very, very rarely. The fact is that, as a rule, these types of updates are not part of the cosmetic changes during restyling. For example, to change the suspension, transmission and more global technical changes are needed. But sometimes during updates, some companies take such a step and change many of the technical parts of the machine. In this case, updating the model is called "deep restyling".

Examples of restyling of new cars

Volkswagen Passat 2012

Here is an example for you, a sample of how a car changes during restyling. Compare 2012 and the same restyled 2016 model.

Volkswagen Passat 2016

You will immediately see that the car has received an updated appearance mainly due to changes from the front. If you carefully study the two photos, you can see that these changes are not significant and superficial, although the engineers changed the front bumper, hood and headlights.

Now let's compare the interior of the 2012 Volkswagen Passat and the updated interior. Here you can also see minor changes to the trim of the center console, minor changes to the dashboard and a redesigned steering wheel.

2016 Volkswagen Passat interior

In general, the 2016 model in its technical part is almost no different from the 2012 model range. But thanks to a slight external restyling and some changes in the interior of the car, it turned out to be more fresh and modern. With this style, it will be easier for the car to compete in the global car market.

In other words, we can say that all cars that have been restyled (redesign, facelift, etc.) are not a new generation of one model range. Even if, after updating the new model as part of the middle of its release cycle, the car has undergone significant changes in appearance and interior, it still cannot be considered a new generation.

The visual design of the brand with a change in positioning, a change in the holistic brand ideology. This implies that the company has undergone some pretty strong changes. Successful rebranding allows the company to reach a new level of development, attract the attention of new customers and increase the loyalty of existing ones. Restyling and repositioning are components of the rebranding process (see below).

The essence of rebranding

Tasks

Key stages of rebranding

Marketing audit

The main goal is to understand how much the consumer knows the brand, whether he is loyal to him, what barriers exist for the perception of the brand, to evaluate its image for various target audiences, to understand what strengths and weaknesses it has, competitive advantages. Based on marketing research, a decision is made on whether the brand needs repositioning.

Brand repositioning

Changing its main characteristics and fixing them in the minds of target audiences.

Restyling of the visual attributes of the brand

Changing the color of the logo and other visual attributes that accompany the brand, in accordance with the new positioning and new characteristics of the brand.

Internal and external communication

Communicate to the audience (employees, consumers, competitors, etc.) what characteristics the new brand has.

Rebranding examples

In the Russian telecommunications industry, the most successful can be called the rebranding (in 2005-2006) of the Beeline trademark, and the most radical, although not universally accepted, is the rebranding of MTS OJSC and other companies that are part of the Sistema Telecom holding.

Sources

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Synonyms:

See what "Restyling" is in other dictionaries:

restyling- (restyling) - visual change of brand elements (logo, corporate identity or other brand attributes). It is part of a complex of works on the rebranding of the company. It can also be carried out independently. But in this case, the changes will affect ... ... Banking Encyclopedia

Exist., number of synonyms: 1 redesign (3) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

Changing the product (or its design) according to the latest fashion trends (updating with changes). English up to the minute styling design (products) in accordance with the latest fashion. Dictionary of business terms. Akademik.ru. 2001 ... Glossary of business terms