South Korean carmaker Kia has announced that Marc Hedrich, the current CEO of the brand in France, will join the European regional headquarters in Frankfurt as President and CEO of Kia Europe, starting on 1 January 2024. He succeeds Won-Jeong Jeong, who held the position for the last four years.

His primary assignment will be to guide Kia further into the transformation to become a leading electric car brand, targeting 55% of sales to be electric by 2030. According to Kia, before his most recent role as President of Kia France, Hedrich served in several senior positions in leading automotive companies, including twelve years at Toyota.

Toyota Motor Europe Brussels

Hedrich, now 55, graduated from the  European Business School in Paris and started his career in automotive at Ford France in 1990. He became a Marketing Director at Skoda France, later Seat France, and joined Toyota France in the same function in 2003. From there, he moved to Toyota Europe’s Brussels headquarters as General Manager of Product Planning in 2007.

After turning in Brussels for Prague for nearly four years as vice president general manager of Toyota in the Czech Republic, he returned to Brussels as vice president of product planning development in 2014.

There, he was responsible for strategy, line-up and life-cycle management, and cost planning for the Toyota’s 4x4s like the Land Cruiser and Highlander, and SUVs like the RAV4, Venza, Fortuner, the Toyota Camry, and Avensis passenger cars and light commercial vehicles Hilux, Hiace, and ProAce.

In April 2015, he joined Kia France in Paris, holding office until today as Managing Director and COO. From January 2024, he will move to Frankfurt to succeed Won-Jeong Jeong as CEO of Kia Europe, who held that position since 2020.

An electrifying moment in Europe

According to the press release, under Won-Jeong Jeong’s leadership, Kia continued to transform into a sustainable mobility provider with a stronger focus on brand management and electrified solutions. “Right now, Kia is delivering an electrifying moment in Europe, not just with game-changing electric vehicles, but also innovative connected services,” Jeong says.

“The strong sales performance of the past years is not just a reflection of the European Kia team efforts; it also proves the quality and versatility of Kia products, brand, and popularity in Europe,” he adds.

For the new Kia Europe president, the priority will be to steer Kia further to become a leading EV brand by launching 15 EVs by 2027 and raising the proportion of electrified car sales to 55% in 2030.