The Hyundai Motor group has announced the appointment of Fayez Abdul Rahman as vice president of Genesis architecture development, luring the high-ranking engineer from his position at BMW.
The 58-year-old German national joins former BMW M boss Albert Biermann at the Korean automaker, with the latter currently heading up the brand’s vehicle test and high-performance development division.
In a statement, Hyundai said that Rahman would “lead planning for vehicle specification and performance from the earliest stages of vehicle development”.
His initial focus? Enhancing “performance and quality” for Genesis models, although the automaker added that his development processes would “gradually be applied” to other Hyundai vehicles, “enabling them to directly compete with Europe’s leading premium car manufacturers”.
At BMW, Rahman led concept and platform development for models such as the 7 Series, various X-badged SUVs and even high-performance M vehicles.
“I am very excited to be a part of this dynamic organisation and am impressed by the remarkable progress made by Hyundai Motor Group over the past decade. We want to develop a flexible and future-oriented vehicle architecture that is unique to Hyundai Motor Group, to secure competitiveness, especially in the areas of vehicle performance and quality,” said Rahman.