Hyundai to hire ex-Bentley designer Donckerwolke to succeed Schreyer, report says

Hyundai Motor will hire Volkswagen Group veteran Luc Donckerwolke to succeed Peter Schreyer as head of design for the Hyundai and Kia brands, a report said.

Hyundai declined to comment on the report but Automotive News Europe sources confirmed that the Belgian designer quit as styling chief at VW Group's Bentley brand earlier this month to take up the "offer of a lifetime" at Hyundai.

Like Schreyer, Donckerwolke, 49, worked as a designer for Audi during his 23-year career with VW and was also head of design at the group's Lamborghini and Seat brands.

During his time at Volkswagen, Donckerwolke was responsible for the designs of the Audi R8 Le Mans, as well as the Lamborghini Murcielago and Lamborghini Gallardo.

Donckerwolke will move to Korea and after a transition period will take over the top design job when Schreyer, who turns 63 next month, retires in two years, the report said.

Schreyer, known as the creative brain behind the Audi TT, was promoted in 2013 to oversee both Kia and Hyundai's designs. He was tasked with giving the Hyundai brand a fresh, familywide look, as he did at Kia after being hired as the brand's top designer from VW Group in 2006.

At the New York auto show in late March, Donckerwolke slammed the design of the freshly revealed 2016 Lincoln Continental, sarcastically asking on Facebook: “Do you want us to send you the product tooling?”

Schreyer said at the time that he would give the sibling brands more distinct identities in what he called a "dramatic evolution."

A Hyundai spokesman told Automotive News Europe: "We do not comment on speculation concerning potential appointments."

Donckerwolke made headlines at the New York auto show in late March, when he slammed the design of the freshly revealed 2016 Lincoln Continental, sarcastically asking on Facebook: “Do you want us to send you the product tooling?”

The comment, reported by Car Design News, was considered “offensive” by Lincoln’s head designer, David Woodhouse.

Hans Greimel contributed to this report.