Kia designer appointed president

Kia's chief design officer Peter Schreyer has become the first non-Korean president of the car manufacturer.

It means Schreyer becomes one of three President-level executives at Kia. Schreyer holds this new title in addition to his role as chief design officer, Kia Motors Corporation.

Schreyer, 59, joined Kia in 2006 from the Volkswagen Group to create a new design-led product strategy for the brand, and has helped change the perception of the manufacturer as it moved into the mainstream.

Since then the design team has unveiled a long line of exciting concept cars and dramatic new products including the latest Sportage, the Ceed family and larger models for sale in the Korean domestic and some overseas markets such as Optima, K7 and Quoris as well as mass-market models such as Picanto and Rio.