Manfred Harrer appointed Hyundai Head of R&D
The Korean group stated that it has made ‘appointments o accelerate transformation into a software-driven mobility group.’ Harrer’s new role is defined in these terms: as Head of R&D Division, he is responsible for ‘to strengthen Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) competitiveness through close collaboration across software and related domains, driving next-generation development projects.’
Harrer, who joined Hyundai Motor Group in 2024, most recently served as Executive Vice President of Vehicle Development. The German national brings experience from Audi and BMW, and over nearly 14 years at Porsche, he earned a reputation as one of the world’s leading chassis developers. However, his last position in Weissach as Series Manager for the Cayenne lasted only nine months. From there, he moved to Apple, where he worked as a Product Design Engineer on the electric vehicle project ‘Titan.’ After relocating to South Korea in 2024, he was promoted for the first time, taking on responsibility for the overall vehicle development of the group’s three passenger car brands, alongside the development of Genesis and performance projects.
With his latest promotion to President and Head of Research and Development, Harrer is no longer responsible ‘only’ for vehicles but also for all other development projects—from fundamental research and diverse vehicle and software platforms to final products. Hyundai’s statement is full of praise: Harrer has already ‘spearheaded enhancements in core vehicle performance.’ It adds: “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.”
Harrer is not the first German to take overall responsibility for development at Hyundai Motor Group. In 2018, Albert Biermann became the first non-Korean to be promoted to the top of the Research and Development division. The long-time BMW developer had previously been responsible for Hyundai’s sporty N models. At the end of 2021, however, Biermann retired and stepped back into an advisory role.
In total, 219 executives across the group have been promoted, including four presidents, 14 Executive Vice Presidents, 25 Senior Vice Presidents, and 176 new Vice Presidents. Focusing briefly on other vehicle-related appointments: Juncheol Jung, Head of the Manufacturing Division at Hyundai Motor Group, will be promoted to President effective 1 January 2026, ‘to further strengthen leadership in hardware manufacturing and accelerate the establishment of the Group’s Software-Defined Factory (SDF) approach.’
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