In what’s regarded as a major boost for Korean car maker Kia, it has been confirmed that Peter Schreyer will be moving from Volkswagen AG to lead Kia’s global design operation. Schreyer will oversee the design activities of the company’s regional design centers in Frankfurt, Los Angeles and Tokyo as well as the Namyang Design Center in Korea.
While Schreyer’s move to Kia comes across as a big surprise for many within automotive design circles, his departure from Volkswagen doesn’t. His difference in design philosophy with Volkswagen Design Chief Murat Gunak was central to a deteriorating working relationship, and when he was passed over in favor of Skoda design boss Thomas Ingenlath to head up Volkswagen’s new advanced design studio in Berlin last year, his departure seemed only a matter of time.
Schreyer is best known for his work of eight years at Audi, where he was responsible for establishing a classic Bauhaus-inspired styling, still a foundation of their vehicle lineup. His work on the Audi A6 and the TT is still regarded as some of the most influential automotive design in recent time.
With Schreyer’s move to Kia, not only will he mastermind the brand’s styling direction and the coordinate design language of the entire lineup for the future, but his presence alone brings an instant respect for Kia’s automotive design for the competition to worry about. He will most likely be based at Kia’s design studio near Russelsheim, and with his stay in Germany, Kia’s european studio is sure to get a lot more production vehicle responsibilities. He will report to Mr. Chung eu-sun, the chairman of Kia.
53 year old Peter Schreyer graduated from the Royal College of Art, London, in 1980, with a Master of Transportation design degree.
Peter Schreyer will be the next Design Director at Kia Motors. He has worked at Audi for more than 25 years, and created the original Audi TT.
Peter Schreyer first joined Audi in 1978 for a student stage: in 1994 he was the design responsible for one of the most acclaimed cars of the latest years, the original Audi TT.
He left an important mark on the design language at Audi, that still distiguishes all the brand’s models.
He had joined Volkswagen in 2002, and according to some insiders he was looking for a different job for more than two years.
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| 1995 Audi TT Concept | 2004 Volkswagen Concept R sketch |
Among his latest creations is the 2004 Volkswagen Concept-R.
As some report, Kia’s official confirm will be given by the end of September. Peter Schreyer might work at Kia’s new European Design Center in Frankfurt.
Peter Schreyer – Biography
- 1953 – Born in Bad Reichenhall, Deutschland
- 1975 – Begins his studies at the Industrie Design Fachhochschule (Industrial Design professional school), Munchen
- 1978 – Stage at AUDI AG’s Design Studio
- 1979 – Final diploma Industrie Designer FH
- 1979 – Audi Scholarship for the Royal College of Art, London
- 1979-1980 – Transportation Design student at the Royal College of Art, London
- 1980 – Works at Audi Design, Exterieur, Interieur und Konzept
- 1991-1992 – Works at Audi Design Studio, California, USA.
- 1992-1993 – Audi Design, Concept Studio
- 1993 – Volkswagen AG, Exterior Design
- 1995 – Founder and Jury member of “Internationaler Audi design Förderpreis”
- 1996-1998 – Audi A4 Avant, Audi A3 winning projects
- 1999 – Audi Design Team of the Year
- 1999-2002 Volkswagen AG Design
- 2003 Winner of the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany
(Photo: Volkswagen of America, Inc. – Source: Inside Line)
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