Asia Tech Wire (Apr 22) -- Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor Corp Ltd (600104.SH) announced Monday that Jozef Kaban, a world-renowned car designer and creator of the Bugatti Veyron supercar, has formally joined the company.

Kaban will become vice president of global design at SAIC Motor R&D Innovation Headquarters, responsible for the forward-looking creativity and product design of the entire lineup of automotive brands in the headquarters.

Prior to joining SAIC Motor, Kaban, 51, served as design director for Škoda, BMW, Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen.

Kaban was chief of exterior design for Volkswagen Group's Škoda since 2008. And earlier in 2017, he left Škoda to replace Karim Habib as head of design at BMW.

In 2019, Kaban transferred within the BMW Group to lead design at Rolls-Royce.

The famous Slovakian designer returned to the Volkswagen Group in January 2020 to take charge of its main VW brand.

However, as Kaban failed to impress Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schaefer, Bentley design chief Andreas Mindt replaced him as VW design chief from February 2023 onwards.