Hyundai has announced that Peter Schreyer, Kia’s hugely successful chief design officer, will now head both Korean companies’ design centres in a bid to streamline resources and create synergy between the two sister brands.

Hyundai says that as president of design for Hyundai and Kia, German-born Schreyer will lead a long-term design vision and strategy, oversee the Group’s design resources, and cement the two brands’ differentiation strategies according to each company’s specific brand direction.

Hyundai Motor Group’s vice chairman of R&D in Korea, Woong-Chul Yang, said strengthening the brand’s fundamentals, especially in the area of design, was imperative to securing long-term competitiveness.

“Design is not just the most visible aspect of the car, but it’s an area customers have a strong emotional connection to. It is at the centre of our efforts to enhance our brand value,” Yang said.

Yang said Schreyer – chief design officer at Kia since 2006 and former head of design at Volkswagen and Audi – brought with him a wealth of experience in design from the global auto industry and has a deep understanding of the Hyundai Motor Group.

Schreyer is the man behind Kia’s ‘The Simplicity of the Straight Line’ design principle started in 2006 and the ‘Tiger Nose’ family face seen across the brand’s range including the Kia Optima, Rio, and cee’d and pro_cee’d hatches.