Peter Schreyer, president of Kia Motors in charge of design, will now be leading the design segment of both Hyundai and Kia cars, Hyundai Motor Group said on Sunday.

Schreyer’s official title will be president of Hyundai, Kia Design Center.

The recent promotion follows in quick succession after a previous personnel reshuffling last year when Schreyer was appointed to president and designated to head the design of Kia cars. 

“The latest move reflects our company’s efforts to further enhance the design capacity of both Hyundai and Kia, and also to bring innovation to both brands to raise our overall level of competitiveness,” Hyundai Motor Group said in a statement.

In December last year, Schreyer made headlines when he became the first foreigner to become a president at one of Hyundai Motor’s business units.

Schreyer has been hailed as one of the top car designers with his contribution to the K series of Kia Motors. His K series has been praised as having created a signature automobile design for the nation’s second-largest carmaker.

Beginning in 2005, Kia focused on the European market, identifying design as its core future growth engine ― leading to the 2006 hiring of Schreyer as chief design officer.

Schreyer has been central to a complete restyling of Kia’s lineup, overseeing design at Kia’s design centers in Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Tokyo and the Namyang Design Center in Korea.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)