This file photo provided by Kia Corp. shows John Buckingham who began serving as head of Kia Next Design Exterior Group on June 1, 2023.
SEOUL, June 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-biggest carmaker by sales, said Monday it has hired a former BMW exterior designer in the latest move to strengthen its design capabilities.
John Buckingham began serving as head of Kia Next Design Exterior Group on June 1 after spending 18 years as exterior designer at luxury car brands, such as BMW, Bentley Motors and Faraday Future, the company said in a statement.
“Drawing from his extensive experience designing electric vehicles (EVs), Buckingham will make a significant contribution to the exterior design of Kia’s next-generation vehicles, including all-electric models,” the statement said.
Buckingham reports to Kim Teck-koun, vice president and head of Kia Global Design Group.
“I look forward to working with the hugely talented design team to help further define the brand’s Opposites United progressive design philosophy and apply this approach to the next generation of Kia vehicle exteriors,” said Buckingham.
“Together, we will build on the hugely impressive current products and work towards the next generation of design expression.”
Buckingham studied automotive design at Coventry University and joined BMW Group in 2005 before moving to Bentley Motors in 2018 and to Faraday Future in 2022.
He conceived the new 8 Series concept at the BMW Designworks studio north of Los Angeles. At Faraday Future, he was responsible for the final development and launching of the FF91, the brand’s flagship EV, in the market.
In 2006, Kia appointed former Audi designer Peter Schreyer as its chief design officer as part of Hyundai Motor Group’s efforts to strengthen its competitiveness through qualitative growth.
He was with Hyundai Motor Group for the following 16 years, creating distinctive models such as the Kia K5 sedan, Soul box car and Stinger subcompact sport-utility vehicle.
He developed Kia’s distinctive and globally-recognized tiger nose grille.
Other foreign designers include former Infiniti designer Karim Habib who joined Kia as head of its design center in 2019 and Jochen Paesen who joined Kia as vice president of its interior design group in 2020.
(Yonhap)
