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Kia hires ex-BMW designer as new innovation design chief

Won Kyu Kang appointed as head of design innovation.


Kia has appointed Won Kyu Kang as vice president and head of its design innovation group.

Kang spent the past 15 years working at BMW, where he started out as an exterior designer.

He later rose through ranks to become creative director of BMW Group's Shanghai-based design centre, prior to joining Kia.

He has ties with the Korean brand, having started his automotive career as an interior designer at Hyundai.

His design portfolio includes the 2015 BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage concept (pictured below) – a project which he led from an exterior design standpoint.

The brand claims Kang's appointment is "the latest development in Kia’s move to establish a leadership position in electrification and capitalize on new design opportunities focussed on the future of electrification of vehicles."

Kang will be based out of Kia's main design hub in Namyang, Korea, and will report to Karim Habib, senior vice president, and overall head of the Namyang design centre.

Habib is also a recent hire, having joined the brand in 2019, after a brief stint with Nissan's luxury arm Infiniti.

He too spent time with BMW, holding numerous roles over a 19-year period, including the prestigious position of design director for the entire BMW brand.


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Justin Narayan

After more than a decade working in the product planning and marketing departments of brands like Kia, Subaru and Peugeot, Justin Narayan returned to being a motoring writer – the very first job he held in the industry.

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