Citroen names new design chief

PARIS -- Citroen named Pierre Leclercq, a veteran of BMW, Ford and Kia, as head of design.

Leclercq, 46, will start Nov. 1 and report to Jean-Pierre Ploue, PSA Group's design chief, Citroen said in a statement.

Citroen is in the middle of streamlining and redesigning its lineup under CEO Linda Jackson to focus more on SUVs and crossovers. The first four designs in the cycle were the C4 Cactus crossover, with its distinctive protective "airbumps," the C3 small hatchback, and the C3 and C5 Aircross SUVs.

Leclercq is currently head of styling at Kia. A native of Belgium, he started his career at Ford's Ghia studio in Italy, and in 2000 joined BMW Group in California and Munich, where he worked on exterior design projects for BMW, Mini and Rolls Royce. He designed the BMW M5 and M6 before becoming lead designer at BMW’s M performance brand in 2011.

In 2013, Leclercq became head of design for Great Wall Motor, where his projects included a revamped Haval H6 SUV. In 2017 he joined Kia in South Korea.

He replaces Alexandre Malval, who becomes director of Daimler's new advanced design studio in Nice, France. Malvel, 48, will head a team of about 50 designers when the studio opens this year.

Malval started at PSA in 2001 and was named head of design at Citroen in 2012.

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