Hyundai Motor Group has announced a broad round of senior management appointments, naming Manfred Harrer as President and Head of its Research and Development Division, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
The group said the personnel changes are intended to accelerate its transformation into a software-driven mobility company. In his new role, Harrer will be responsible for strengthening the group’s Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) capabilities through closer integration across software and related development areas, while leading next-generation vehicle and platform programmes.
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Harrer joined Hyundai Motor Group in 2024 and currently serves as Executive Vice President of Vehicle Development. A German national, he previously held senior engineering roles at Audi and BMW, and spent nearly 14 years at Porsche, where he was regarded as a leading chassis development specialist. He later worked at Apple as a product design engineer on the company’s now-cancelled electric vehicle project, known internally as Titan.
Since relocating to South Korea, Harrer has overseen vehicle development across Hyundai Motor Group’s passenger car brands, including Genesis, as well as performance-related projects. Hyundai said he has already “spearheaded enhancements in core vehicle performance” and contributed to strengthening the brand identities of Hyundai Motor and Kia.
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With his promotion, Harrer’s responsibilities will extend beyond vehicle programmes to include fundamental research, vehicle and software platforms, and final product development. “Leveraging his deep technical expertise, Harrer has contributed significantly to establishing Hyundai Motor and Kia’s brand identity over this short period with the Group so far,” the company said.
Harrer follows in the footsteps of Albert Biermann, who in 2018 became the first non-Korean to lead the group’s R&D division. Biermann, a former BMW executive and architect of Hyundai’s N performance models, retired at the end of 2021 and moved into an advisory role.
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Hyundai Motor Group said a total of 219 executives were promoted as part of the latest reshuffle, including four presidents, 14 executive vice presidents, 25 senior vice presidents and 176 vice presidents. Among other vehicle-related appointments, Juncheol Jung, currently head of the group’s manufacturing division, will be promoted to President from Jan. 1, 2026, to strengthen leadership in hardware manufacturing and advance the group’s Software-Defined Factory strategy.