Kia Motors boosts its design edge with former BMW designer John Buckingham. As their new Design Exterior Director, Buckingham will fortify Kia's progressive design philosophy and next-gen vehicle exteriors.
Kia Motors is currently the second-largest automobile manufacturer in its home base, and it announced the hiring of Buckingham as its design exterior director on Monday, June 5. With his addition to the company, Kia expects to boost its design capabilities.
The announcement was a bit delayed because Buckingham already started to work as the head of Kia Next Design Exterior Group on June 1. Prior to his move, he held the same post in luxury car companies, including BMW, Faraday Future, and Bentley Motors.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the new director of design exterior at Kia Motors will directly report to the vice president and head of Kia Global Design Group, Kim Teck Koun. Buckingham joined the BMW Group in 2005 and moved to Bentley Motors in 2018. In 2022, he joined Faraday Future, and this is apparently his shortest stint, as he is joining Kia Motors this month.
Buckingham is a graduate of Coventry University with a degree in automotive design. He was credited with creating the new 8 Series concept at the BMW Designworks studio based in Los Angeles.
"I look forward to working with the hugely talented design team to help further define the brand's Opposites United progressive design philosophy and apply this approach to the next generation of Kia vehicle exteriors," Buckingham said in a statement. "Together, we will build on the hugely impressive current products and work towards the next generation of design expression."
"I will collaborate with exceptional colleagues to effectively incorporate the design philosophy of 'Opposite United' a creative fusion of contrasting concepts into Kia's exterior design," The Korea Economic Daily further quoted the new Kia Motor’s exterior design head. "I will strive to secure a new dimension of design capabilities."
Photo by: Nils Bogdanobs/Unsplash


Trump Urges Gasoline Retailers to Cut Prices to $2.50 Per Gallon, Warns of Legal Action
Asian Stocks End Strong Quarter as Dollar Surges, Yen Hits 40-Year Low Ahead of US Jobs Data
Apple Challenges India Antitrust Probe, Says CCI Copied Rivals’ Claims in App Store Case
Chip Stocks Rally as Samsung and SK Hynix’s $1.3 Trillion Investment Plan Boosts AI Optimism
NATO Albania Summit Faces Uncertainty as Trump, Defense Spending Concerns Loom
Dollar Slips Ahead of Key U.S. Jobs Data as Fed Rate Outlook, ECB, and Iran Talks Shape Forex Markets
Gold Prices Drop as Fed Rate Outlook and Iran Tensions Weigh on Market
Yen Falls to 40-Year Low as Markets Watch Japan Intervention and U.S. Jobs Report
Momenta Launches Hong Kong IPO to Raise Up to $751 Million for AI and Robotaxi Expansion
Morgan Stanley Names BAE Systems Top European Defence Stock Despite Lower Price Target
U.S. Stocks End Q2 Higher as Strong Jobs Data and AI Rally Lift Wall Street
India Manufacturing PMI Slows in June as Demand Weakens Despite Lower Cost Pressures
Global Financial Firms Shift Asia Expansion Focus to South Korea as China, India Face Caution
Anthropic Brings Claude AI Models to Microsoft Azure Foundry With NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs
SoftBank Shares Slide as OpenAI IPO Delay Concerns Weigh on AI Investment Outlook
Morgan Stanley Raises Tesla Q2 Delivery Forecast on Strong Europe and China Demand
Kawasaki Heavy Shares Slide on Report of ¥200 Billion Capital Raise Plan 



