In the mid-20th-century, American car styling dominated the world. By the late 20th century and into the 21st, that styling mantle had been ceded to the Europeans, the Japanese and increasingly, the Koreans.

But now we live in a world where China has developed a gigantic auto market, the world's largest; Chinese domestic auto sales last year were around 27 million cars, vs. 16 million in the U.S. And Chinese buyers have wildly different aesthetic tastes than the rest of the world. The country's economic history means their citizens never saw '50s Cadillacs, '60s Mustangs, '70s Mercedes, '80s BMWs, '90s Toyotas, et cetera, and their citizens are unburdened with automotive aesthetic history.

Which means established brands must pivot towards Chinese tastes, if they want a piece of that market. Hyundai has thus unveiled two new IONIQ concepts, Venus and Earth, which are EVs designed specifically for Chinese tastes. These vehicles are meant to be seen on the streets of Beijing and Ningbo, not Los Angeles, Stuttgart or Milan.

Hyundai's designers haven't articulated the design philosophy, beyond releasing bland statements like "IONIQ was shaped specifically for the Chinese market" and coyly mentioning that there are "hidden references to Beijing" in the design details. But what we can see from the concepts is that sharp, striking silhouettes was apparently a priority.

The Venus, the more sedan-like of the two, has an unabashedly Countach-like profile. In contrast, the Earth looks like two different designs were teleported into the same location at once.

Since becoming a global force, Hyundai has done their own thing, design-wise, for better or worse. And you could argue that the things they've done have been no weirder than say, BMW's aesthetic explorations. It will be interesting to see what other established automakers, particularly the ones with long aesthetic histories, start producing to cater to Chinese tastes.