Peter Schreyer

Peter Schreyer (born 1953) is a German automobile designer widely known for his design contributions to the Audi TT. He has been the chief design officer at Kia Motors since 2006 and, on 28 December 2012, he was named one of three presidents of the company.

In 2006, '' Car Design News'' called the Audi TT one of "the most influential automotive designs in recent time".

Education and early career

Schreyer was born in 1953 in Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria, West Germany, and he began studying in 1975 at the Munich University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule München – Industrie Design). He worked with Audi first as a student in 1978, graduating in 1979 with his industrial design degree. Subsequently, he won the Audi Scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art in London from 1979 to 1980 as a transportation design student.

In 1980, Schreyer began working with Audi in exterior, interior and conceptual design. In 1991, he moved to the company's design studio in California. He returned to the Audi Design Concept Studio in 1992 and, the following year, moved to Volkswagen's exterior design department.

Schreyer is known for wearing all-black clothing, black eyeglasses designed by Philippe Starck, and for his "competitive, inventive and analytic" nature.

Kia and Hyundai Motor Group

Beginning in 2005, Kia focused on the European market, identifying ''design'' as central to their growth strategy — leading to the 2006 hiring of Schreyer as chief design officer. Schreyer has been central to a complete restyling of Kia's range, overseeing design activities at Kia's design centers in Frankfurt, Irvine, Tokyo and the Namyang Design Center in Korea.

Schreyer indicated in a 2010 interview that Kia had a "neutral image" - indistinguishable whether it was Korean or Japanese - and said that "it's very important that you are able to recognise a Kia at first sight".

The ''Kee'' concept vehicle, shown at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, introduced a new corporate grille to create a recognizable 'face' for the brand. Known as the ''Tiger Nose'', Schreyer indicated he wanted "a powerful visual signal, a seal, an identifier. The front of a car needs this recognition, this expression. A car needs a face and I think the new Kia face is strong and distinctive. Visibility is vital and that face should immediately allow you to identify a Kia even from a distance". Commenting on the new signature grille in 2009, Schreyer said "Tigers are powerful, yet kind of friendly". The nose is "three-dimensional - like a face, not just a surface with a mouth drawn on it. From now on, we'll have it on all our cars".
In November 2018 Schreyer was replaced by Luc Donckerwolke as the chief design officer at Hyundai-Kia; his title was updated to "President of design management for Hyundai Motor Group", responsible for the group's long-term design vision.

Awards

* 1995 Schreyer founded and juried the "Internationaler Audi design Förderpreis".
* 2003 Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany.
* 2007 honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in London, following Sergio Pininfarina

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