Peter Schreyer, who has led Kia’s design efforts as it raises both its reputation and sales on world markets, has been named a president of the South Korean automaker.
He will be one of three presidents in the company and the first non-Korean to hold the title. The promotion reflects the impact the Schreyer-led “tiger nose” design theme has had in lifting Kia’s reputation from that of a maker of cheaply built penalty boxes to a purveyor of higher quality and better performing rides. The shift has no doubt delivered higher profits per car, too.
Bloomberg quotes Seoul-based KB Investment & Securities analyst Shin Chung Kwan as saying, “The promotion shows Kia’s key focus areas shifting from production and cost efficiency, which were traditionally considered more important, to design and research and development. It also symbolizes Kia’s urge to advance as a global company, showing a foreigner could make it to one of the top positions.”
Kia famously hired Schreyer away from Volkswagen in 2006 and installed him as its chief design officer, a title the 59-year-old retains. Schreyer had a strong start in corporate VW when Audi gave him a scholarship to study at London’s Royal College of Art in 1979. He quickly rose through the corporation, spending time during 1991 and 1992 in the company’s California design studio before returning to Germany.
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The 2007 Kee concept, among the first Kias to be penned under Schreyer’s guidance and one which pointed to the brand’s current design language.
The Bavarian native was quoted in 2007 as saying, “In the past, the Kia cars were very neutral.” That changed at the 2007 Frankfurt show with the debut of the Kia Kee concept, which set the tone for the Kias of today. At the time, Schreyer said that the coupe “represents the ‘key’ which will open the door to success for our brand.
While it’s unusual for a design executive to move to business management, it isn’t unprecedented. Ralph Gilles, Chrysler’s senior vice president of design, was named to head Dodge in 2009, a post he held until 2011 when he was put in charge of the SRT division while retaining his design responsibilities.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/BOFtnRDILQw/
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