Kia names Canadian Karim Habib to head vehicle design

Kia Motors Corp. named former Infiniti design chief Karim Habib — a Lebanese-born Canadian — as a senior vice president, heading the Korean automaker's design center and presiding over the look of its vehicles.

Habib will join Kia at the start of October and will be based at Kia's global design headquarters in Namyang, Korea, the company said Friday in a statement. He will report to Luc Donckerwolke, chief design officer for Hyundai Motor Group who also supervises Kia design.

Nissan Motor Co. said last month that Habib — who joined Infiniti in July 2017 from BMW — was leaving Infiniti "to pursue other opportunities." Taisuke Nakamura was named Infiniti's global design chief.

"Kia is a growing, ambitious brand on a determined path toward electrification and mobility innovation," Habib said in a statement. "I am thrilled to be a part of this transformation to strengthen the Kia brand further into the future of the automotive industry, which promises to be full of challenges and opportunities.

"I look forward to working with CDO Donckerwolke whose work I have admired for many years, as well as the Kia design team that has created some truly remarkable designs."

Said Donckerwolke: "We highly appreciate Karim's talent and experience. He is joining Kia at a crucial moment to project the brand into the future of mobility and to reinforce the young-spirited and motivated design team which has won numerous international design awards."