Hyundai, Kia design boss quits amid marque's aggressive strategy

Breaking news for Hyundai fans. After four years, Hyundai Motor Group’s Executive Vice President and Chief Design Officer, Luc Donckerwolke has left the Korean car company.

According to reports, Mr. Donckerwolke says his reasons for leaving the company are personal, and this was amid Hyundai’s aggressive global campaign.

Currently, Hyundai is yet to replace the Belgian designer so the car design responsibilities for Hyundai and Genesis are currently left to SangYup Lee, the head of the Hyundai Design Center, and Karim Habib, the head of Kia design.

This is a sad turn of events for Hyundai Motors

If you aren’t aware, Luc Donckerwolke replaced Peter Schreyer, the guy who was responsible for making Kia and Hyundai vehicles look great. Donckerwolke is also a veteran car designer who has extensive experience working with brands like Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, and Lamborghini.

Back when he was with the Lamborghini, Donckerwolke designed several notable Lamborghini Models like the Diablo VT, the Murcielago, and the Gallardo.

These cars aided him in earning the position of Design Director at SEAT, S.A., a Spanish automotive manufacturer. He also sat as the Bentley design director in 2012 where he designed the Bentley Flying Spur and the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6.

Dunckerwolke designed one of the most radical looking super cars of all time; the Diablo VT

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In Hyundai’s efforts to acquire talented Europeans, they managed to sign in Mr. Donckerwolke, who was then assigned to lead Genesis in November 2015.

Genesis is Hyundai Motor Group’s luxury brand, and during his time there, he designed the Genesis GV80 midsize crossover, the G80 sedan, and the G90 luxury sedan facelift. Mr. Donckerwolke is also responsible for the beautiful Hyundai vehicle lineup you see today like the Hyundai Kona and the Hyundai Palisade.

And yes indeed, the Kona and the Murcielago, Diablo VT, and the Gallardo was designed by one man

As such, losing Luc Donckerwolke is indeed a huge blow to Hyundai, and looking for a replacement with his caliber of talent would be no small feat.

For Donckerwolke himself, several reports are saying that he plans to stay in Bavaria with his family. Will the man be retiring for good this time?

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