Peter Schreyer is marking 10 years of leading new car design for the world’s fastest growth, design lead vehicle manufactures, Kia Motors.

This is the period during which the Korean brand’s global sales have risen from around 1.1 million cars in 2005, to 3.05 million in 2015.

Mr Schreyer has been the mastermind of Kia’s design revolution over the last decade, a shift which has fundamentally altered the way in which the company’s models are perceived around the world.

Having joined Kia Motors as Chief Design Officer, Mr Schreyer is now President and Chief Design Officer of Kia Motors Corporation.

Mr Schreyer joined the Kia in 2006 as the Chief Design Officer, and help Kia expanded its global manufacturing capabilities as new models entered production.

Customers around the world were opening their eyes to the value and quality of Kia cars.

Mr Schreyer’s fresh design viewpoint provided the impetus for the transformation of the brand and its image, matching Kia’s increasingly global outlook.

Mr Schreyer explains: “When I started at Kia, it was important that we established an identity and a consistent feeling across the brand.

“But the story of how our new vehicles came to life is about so much more than just aesthetics.

“It involves intricate choices in how complex ideas work together to create something that generates an emotional response.”

In the following years, this vision resulted in the establishment of a consistent design DNA across the growing Kia model line-up, with recognisable signature elements featured in a number of new designs.

Mr Schreyer’s direction has helped Kia establish a clear identity, raise brand awareness, and put into production a series of modern, progressive new car designs.

As Kia has transformed its model range, the proliferation of Korean culture around the world – K-Pop, ‘Gangnam Style’, modern architecture in Kia’s own Korean domestic market, and the appreciation of Korean art, to name a few – has helped inspire Mr Schreyer.

His design teams in providing the motor industry with design led, award winning and hi-tech vehicles.

Mr Schreyer commented: “For designers, it’s important to not only look at cars, but to be interested in architecture, art, music, industrial design…all sorts of things.

“They are influencing us and we are influencing them. People now know more about Korea, and about what’s going on there.

“On the one hand you have this ‘heartbeat’ when you go to Seoul, and on the other hand you have the silence, the concentration. Both of these things inspire me and our designers.”

The inspiration

It’s this contrast that has inspired the design language of Kia’s models.

Mr Schreyer explains: “We have this treasure where we can find inspiration in art, and simplicity – the luxury of empty space and surfaces. It’s very simple but it’s done with a lot of diligence and concentration.”

Mr Schreyer’s design philosophy is borne out of this Korean inspiration: ‘the simplicity of the straight line’, which characterises every one of the designs he has overseen.

The growth of a truly global network of designers has led to different interpretations of this approach, with design centres now established in California in the USA, Frankfurt in Germany, and at the company’s Namyang R&D centre in Korea.

One of the first models

Kia Optima, one of the first Kia models to be designed entirely under the direction of Mr Schreyer, is seen today as the catalyst for the recent design-led transformation of Kia’s product range.

As well as offering new technology and greater refinement than its predecessors, the Optima’s design added depth to the Kia model line-up and fundamentally changed the way people saw the Kia brand in markets all around the globe.

The newest generation Optima, launched earlier this year, also retains this unique personality.

Design has played a key role in transforming the perception of the Kia brand and its products over the last few years – and the company will continue with this design-led approach for many years yet.

New launches in new segments over the coming years, and the on-going rebirth of new model generations, mean that Kia design will continue to be at the heart of the company’s success in future.

Mr Schreyer concludes: “What really excites me is how fast this company is evolving. The brand as you knew it ten or even five years ago is gone.

“You can see it in even the smallest detail. You can feel it in the sophisticated textures and materials.

“And you experience it in ways that are inter-related and connected. As we move forward, it’s important that change is an improvement and not just for the sake of looking different.”

Availability

The sleek design, multi award winning Kia vehicles such as Sorento, Sportage, Optima, along with range of vehicles are available from Kia Motors Fiji Showrooms.

These are located in the corner of Grantham Road and Carpenter Street, Garden City, Raiwai Suva, and on the Main Street in Nadi town.

Kia Motors Fiji Service Centers are located on Carpenter Street in Raiwai Suva, and on the Khan Jan Drive, Wekamu Sub-division in Nadi, opposite the Nadi Temple.

All brand new Kia vehicles are backed by a 3year/100,000km warranty in Fiji.

SOURCE: Kia Motors