Strongman: Hyundai has lured Simon Loasby from Volkswagen to strengthen the South Korean brand’s design capability in the all-important Chinese market.

HYUNDAI Motor Group has named experienced Volkswagen Group designer Simon Loasby as its new head of design for the Chinese market.

No stranger to the world’s biggest car market, Mr Loasby has some 25 years’ experience – including a decade in China – that the South Korean auto giant is expecting him to apply in order to “ensure continuity of Hyundai Motor’s global design language, in addition to developing strategic localised models for the Chinese market”.

This will be done as part of the Beijing Hyundai Motor Co joint venture between Hyundai Motor and the BAIC Group that has now been in place for 15 years, creating models such as Celesta, Mingtoo, Yuedong and ix25 – and expanding further soon with several new SUV models developed specifically for the Chinese market.

Mr Loasby will be based at the company’s technology and engineering centre in Yantai, reporting jointly to Hyundai Motor Group president and chief design officer Peter Schreyer and senior-vice president and head of the Hyundai Motor Design Centre, Luc Donckerwolke.

Mr Loasby has spent the past 10 years as director of design for Volkswagen Group China, delivering various concept and production models for VW – Jetta, Lavida and Lamando, to name just three – and has also overseen work for affiliate brands such as Skoda.

He previously spent seven years working in Germany for Volkswagen, having relocated from the United Kingdom where he had spent a decade working on Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles, rising to chief designer for both brands and including the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, Bentley Arnage and Bentley Continental GT among his list of credits.

“Simon Loasby is a renowned designer with incomparable experience in automotive design for the Chinese market,” Mr Schreyer said.

“We are confident that Simon will greatly enhance our development of strategic models that will excite Chinese customers.”

By Terry Martin