Breakthrough via Customized Design
Hyundai Motor, which has been struggling in the Chinese market due to a decline in sales sparked off by South Korea’s decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, brought in a specialist who served as design director for the Chinese market at the Volkswagen Group. Experts say that in the short term, this move will introduce innovative designs that meet Chinese consumers' preferences and overcome sluggish sales caused by the aftermaths of the deployment of the anti-missile system and in the mid to long term, aims at strengthening the automaker’s product competitiveness.
Hyundai Motor said on June 6 that the company will hire Simon Loasby, director of design for Volkswagen China as vice president and executive director of Hyundai China Design.
Loasby, who is scheduled to join Hyundai Motor in the middle of this month, will set up design strategies and directions for Hyundai China along with Luke Dongkolborke, director of the Hyundai Design Center, and will take charge of the design development of strategic models for the Chinese market based on the characteristics of the Chinese market.
Loasby began his career as a car designer at Rolls-Royce and Bentley in 1991 after studying mechanical engineering at the College of London and receiving his MA degree from the Royal College of Art and Design. In particular, Loasby was appointed senior designer at Bentley in his early thirties, participating in a variety of luxury car design projects including the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph and the Bentley Arnage, and he was recognized for his ability and leadership in designing the first generation model of the Bentley Continental GT.
In particular, Loasby was appointed as the Chinese design executive of the Volkswagen Group in 2008 and developed designs of Chinese exclusive models and Chinese-type designs of global models. This process made Loasby versed in things Chinese. Loasby worked in China for 10 years and designed Volkswagen's exclusive models for the Chinese market such as the Santana, the New Lavida, and the Chinese-type Passat. Loasby developed concept cars on which the Lamando and the Phideon were based. The Lamando and the Phideon were launched and well received last year.
In particular, Hyundai Motor’s hiring of Loasby empowered Hyundai to secure global star designers as design directors for three major global markets -- the US, Europe and China. Ex-BMW designers Christopher Chapman and Thomas Burkle are heading Hyundai Motor's design center in the United States and its European design center, respectively. Peter Schreyer, president and chief design officer at Hyundai Motor and Luc Donkarbolke, director of the Hyundai Design Center will lead Hyundai Motor's global design collaboration system.