Hyundai is preparing a major expansion of its connected car services, introducing themed digital content and integrated payments as part of a broader push to make vehicles more interactive, entertaining, and market-savvy.

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, the automaker plans to roll out football-themed in-car displays through its Bluelink store, leveraging over-the-air updates to keep content fresh and regionally tailored.

While exact details remain under wraps, the company is aiming to deepen its long-standing partnership with FIFA by embedding themed graphics and user interfaces in select models. Whether this will be a universal World Cup aesthetic or customized national team motifs remains to be seen. Hyundai hopes to appeal to fan fervor while avoiding the drag (and fuel cost) of physical car flags.

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The football initiative is part of a larger strategy to diversify in-car personalization. Hyundai is also exploring collaborations beyond sports, including a potential Peanuts partnership that could bring Charlie Brown and Snoopy to digital display screens.

Meanwhile, Hyundai’s IONIQ 9 SUV will be among the first to receive a trio of digital upgrades. These include paddle-operated virtual gearshifts adapted from the IONIQ 5 N and six custom lighting animations. Two new infotainment skins, one with natural themes and another inspired by the retro 1975 Hyundai Pony, will be offered as free downloads.

Looking ahead to early 2026, a new entertainment package will allow users to stream services like Disney+ and Netflix while their vehicles are charging.

Hyundai is also bringing in-car payment capabilities to UK drivers by late 2025. The first application: seamless, location-aware parking payments triggered and ended automatically via the car’s infotainment system. Fuel and toll payments are expected to follow as Hyundai secures UK-based partners.

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According to Guido Gehlen, Director of Connected Car Services, Hyundai is targeting 2–3 major software updates per year, starting with small pilot groups before a wider rollout.

Other enhancements include Google Places integration and an emergency vehicle alert system in select European markets, with potential future features like pothole detection via anonymized vehicle data.