'Grand Prix' design award for Kia's Peter Schreyer

• Chief Designer honoured for remarkable evolution of Kia products
  
• Award jury praises 'transformation of design making Kia desirable'
  
• '2014 Concept Cars' exhibition to display Kia Provo in Paris

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Jan. 29, 2014 /CNW/ - During a special gala dinner held on the eve of the 29th Festival Automobile International in Paris, Peter Schreyer, Chief Design Officer, Kia Motors, was presented with the '2014 Grand Prix du Design'. Schreyer is also President and Chief Design Officer for the Hyundai Motor Group.

Speaking to more than 600 VIP guests from the automotive, fashion, music, movie, media and advertising worlds gathered at Les Invalides, Jean-Michel Wilmotte, President of the 2014 awards jury, commented: "This award acknowledges outstanding design work in an international context. Peter Schreyer is awarded the Grand Prix for his design achievements at the Hyundai-Kia Group.

"In the seven years, since he first became Chief of Design for Kia, Peter has coordinated styling studios in Korea, America and Europe, and succeeded in transforming Kia's design and making it desirable. The remarkable evolution of product design at the South Korean automotive giant is linked to Peter's commitment and know-how which makes him one of the few well-known protagonists in contemporary automotive design," added Wilmotte.

Dedicated to celebrating the very best in all things automotive, the Festival also awarded three '2014 Most Beautiful' prizes - for the best supercar, concept car and car interior - plus awards for the book, photograph, advertisement, art work and architecture of the year, with a predominantly motoring theme.

The Festival's 15-member 2014 jury of award judges includes senior designers and top executives from major companies such as Dassault Systems, Louis Vuitton, Eurosport, Le Point, AD and Bell & Ross.

Following the awards evening, a special '2014 Concept Cars' exhibition open to the public, will be held at the Hotel National des Invalides from 29 January to 2 February. Kia will be displaying the Provo concept car (first shown at the Geneva Show in 2013) during the five-day event, which is expected to be attended by more than 20,000 visitors.

Editors' Notes

Peter Schreyer / Biography
Peter Schreyer was born 1953 in Bad Reichenhall, Germany, and early on he developed a passion for cars, airplanes and art. During his study of industrial design at the University of Applied Science in Munich, Schreyer took an internship at Audi Design which began a 28-year close relationship with Audi and Volkswagen.

After studying at the Royal College of Art in London he began his first job at Audi in 1980. Later, in 1993-94 he worked at Volkswagen creating such cars as the Passat and Golf. As chief designer at Audi between 1994 and 2002, Schreyer played an important role in building Audi into a premium 'design brand'. In 2002 he returned to Volkswagen as a chief designer.

In 2006, Schreyer took on a new challenge of becoming Chief Design Officer at Kia. The following year, he received an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in recognition of his contributions to automotive design.

Under Schreyer's leadership, Kia has completely renewed its product range and developed new design identity. The success of the new design strategy was recognised with various international design awards. Kia sales and brand value have increased dramatically.

In early 2013, Peter was appointed President and Chief Designer Officer of the Hyundai Motor Group, responsible for Hyundai and Kia's long-term design strategies, as well as their design differentiation.

Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.com) - a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart - was founded in 1944 and is Korea's oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. Over 2.7 million Kia vehicles a year are produced in 10 manufacturing and assembly operations in five countries which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering around 150 countries. Kia today has around 48,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$43 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Open and an official automotive partner of FIFA - the governing body of the FIFA World Cup™. Kia Motors Corporation's brand slogan - "The Power to Surprise" - represents the company's global commitment to surprise the world by providing exciting and inspiring experiences that go beyond expectations.

Kia Canada Inc. (www.kia.ca - www.facebook.com/kiacanada) a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart is a subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) which was founded in 1999 and sells and services high quality, class leading vehicles like the Soul, Forte, Optima and Sorento through a network of 184 dealers nationwide. Kia Canada Inc. employs 161 people in its Mississauga, Ontario headquarters and four regional offices across Canada, with an all-new state-of-the-art facility in Montreal. Kia's brand slogan "The Power to Surprise" represents the company's global commitment to surprise the world by providing exciting & inspiring experiences that go beyond expectations. 

SOURCE: KIA Canada Inc.

Jack Sulymka
National Public Relations and Corporate Partnerships Manager 
Kia Canada Inc. 
T: 905-755-6266
C: 905-301-6207
E: [email protected]  

Maxime Surette
Public Relations Manager
Kia Canada Inc.    
T: 905-755-6272
C : 416-316-3313
E : [email protected]