TOKYO – Hyundai Motor Group has hired a former Apple executive with experience at Porsche, BMW and Audi to lead development of Genesis and performance vehicles.
Manfred Harrer, 51, started as executive vice president of the newly created Genesis & Performance Development Tech Unit on May 28, the automaker said.
The German national will oversee development at Genesis as well as performance vehicle work across the group, which includes the Hyundai and Kia brands.
One focus of Harrer's attention will likely be the GV60 Magma, a performance concept shown at the New York auto show that is based on the GV60 compact crossover. Hyundai has said it wants to develop a Magma performance model for each production vehicle in the lineup.
Harrer's hiring also represents an effort by Hyundai to vacuum up engineers who worked on Apple's now defunct car project, according to a South Korean media report.
Harrer's new unit was created through merging the Genesis development unit and the company's vehicle performance technical center. It comes as the South Korean manufacturer moves its brands up market with more premium features and performance driving capabilities.
The push gained momentum under another German executive, Albert Biermann, who joined Hyundai Motor in 2015 from BMW's M performance division. Bierman led Hyundai's N division until retiring in 2021 and played z big role in the Kia Stinger and Genesis G70 sport sedans.
Apple and Porsche
Before Bierman, German designer Peter Schreyer landed at Hyundai Motor and transformed the look of automaker's lineup.
Harrer is expected to focus on accelerating Hyundai Motor's transition to electrification, the company said in a release. His expertise includes electronics systems and software, it said.
At Apple Harrer was senior director of product design engineering at Project Titan, the American tech company's discontinued car gambit, according to a report in the Korea Economic Daily.
Hyundai is actively courting former car engineers who worked at Apple's abandoned automotive program, the publication said. Hyundai has 10 such engineers in its sights, the report said. Hyundai hopes the executives will help jump start its high performance and autonomous driving programs.
Before joining Apple in 2021, Harrer worked more than a decade at Porsche, eventually becoming vice president of the Cayenne crossover product line, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He also led chassis development and advanced driver assist systems at the German sports car maker. Earlier stops in his career were at BMW and Audi, where he was a chassis engineer.
Harrer has a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Bath, according to LinkedIn, where his profile tagline is: “Take risks: If you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.”
