Kia Motors is strengthening its design operations with the appointment of another high-level designer, naming Jochen Paesen VP of Interior Design. In his new role, Paesen will be based in Namyang, Korea, and report to SVP and Head of Kia Design, Karim Habib.
“It is a great honor to be part of Kia’s global design team during a time of enormous change in the automotive industry,” said Paesen. “I look forward to contributing to Kia’s ambitious plans for the future with exciting and innovative products that will strengthen its position on the market.”
Paesen started his new role this month after spending four years leading the interior design and CMF department at NIO from the Chinese carmaker’s design HQ in Munich, Germany. Over the course of his career, he led the teams that designed the NIO EP9, Eve concept car, and ES8 production car and established an interior identity for the brand.
A former BMW Group man himself, Paesen and Habib have worked together on numerous projects. Amongst the many projects he worked on during his nearly decade-long career at BMW Group, Belgium-born Paesen is credited with the BMW i8 interior — developed during his time as design director of BMWi — and the 7-Series (G11/12) and M4 GTS while Interior Design Project Leader at BMW Automobiles and BMW M, respectively. He also worked on the BMW 6-Series (F12/13) and was the lead designer of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept introduced at the 2009 IAA in Frankfurt.
Before joining BMW Group, Paesen worked for Volkswagen where he designed the interior of the Volkswagen Amarok.
As VP of Kia’s Interior Design Group, Paesen will now oversee the development of the brand’s interior designs and use his experience to capitalize on the design opportunities presented by electrification.
“Jochen is not only a talented designer with a great track record, but he also has a deep understanding of the synergy between brand and design,” said Habib. “At a time when Kia has announced its Plan S strategy to tackle the changing environment of the automotive world, Jochen will strengthen our design team and help us create great opportunities for the company.”
Besides his extensive portfolio as a designer, Paesen is also an accomplished artist and photographer. I’ve included a few samples of his artwork below.
Form Trends wishes him all the best in his new role at Kia Motors.
