The man who played if not the, one of the most important roles in turning around the global reputation of Kia as the firm's Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, has been appointed to the role of president, the first non-Korean to hold that title in the automaker's history.
Schreyer, who will keep his position as Kia's design boss, is one of three presidents at the company. His promotion is a sign that the Hyundai and Kia group wants design to play an even greater role in the future as it continues its global expansion challenging Germany's car industry.
The German-born, 59 year-old designer joined Kia in 2006 after a bright career at the Volkswagen Group where he contributed to the appearance of several VW and Audi models including the Passat and the first generation Audi TT and Beetle.
In a recent interview with Automotive News, Volkswagen patriarch Ferdinand Piech admitted that it was a mistake for the company to not hold on to Schreyer: "We should not have let him go," commented Piech.
Among other Kia models penned by Schreyer and his design team, include the production Optima, K7, Sportage and Quoris, and the Track'Ster and GT concepts.
Articles Source : Carscoop
Friday, December 28, 2012
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