Photo credit: Hyundai
Over the last few years, the Hyundai Motor Group has transformed from an automaker that made nice–if not terribly exciting–cars into a producer of real enthusiast machines. That's thanks in large part to R&D chief Albert Biermann, who joined the Korean automaker in 2015 after decades at BMW. Today, the automaker announced the 65-year-old German is retiring from his post, though he'll stay on as an advisor based in Europe.
Most notably, Biermann helped create Hyundai's N performance sub-brand, which has cranked out truly world-class driver's cars including R&T's 2020 Performance Car of the Year, the Veloster N, and the recently launched Elantra N and Kona N. Biermann also played a big role in developing the Kia Stinger and the Genesis G70, as well as the E-GMP platform that underpins EVs like the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5.
“It has been a tremendous pleasure and honor for me to work for Hyundai Motor Group and lead our engineering division to become a 'second-to-none' R&D center in the entire automotive industry,” Biermann said in a statement. “Now, our vehicles standout apart from the competition in many aspects and embody our strong engineering expertise and commitment.”
Replacing Biermann is Chung Kook Park, who previously ran Hyundai's Mobis parts division. Hopefully he'll continue the great work done by his predecessor, and Hyundai will keep making world-class driver's cars.
Keyword: Hyundai R&D Genius Albert Biermann Is Retiring