Peter Schreyer appointed first non-Korean president at Kia

December 31, 2012: Peter Schreyer, Chief Design Officer at Kia Motors (pictured above) and the man who has led the company’s design transformation, has been appointed president – the first non-Korean to hold that title in the company’s history.

Schreyer, 59, joined Kia in 2006 from the Volkswagen Group to create a new design-led product strategy for the brand and quickly became known for his ‘Tiger-nose’ family look.

Since then the design team has unveiled a long line of exciting concept cars and dramatic new products including the latest Sportage, the new cee’d family and larger models for sale in the Korean domestic and some overseas markets such as Optima, K7 and Quoris as well as mass-market models such as Picanto and Rio.

Schreyer has publicly commented on his commitment to Kia and his desire to remain with the company to continue the challenge of making Kia the most design-focused Korean car manufacturer.

In 2013 the last volume product in Kia’s range to come under his design philosophy – Carens – is due to be unveiled, complete with the Schreyer-inspired family look as well as the first sporty model to be added to the cee’d range.

Schreyer is married with two children and is originally from Bavaria in Germany. He studied in Germany and at the Royal College of Art before becoming part of the Volkswagen Group’s design team and contributing to the distinct appearance of several VW and Audi models including the Passat and the Audi TT.

Autocar Professional’s January 1, 2013 issue carries an exclusive interview with Hyoung-Keun (Hank) Lee, vice-chairman & CEO, Kia Motors Corp: “We want to be Korea’s Volkswagen.”