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The Volkswagen Group is seeking to declare its place in the way forward for vehicles because the business transitions to a zero-emission electrical future. To maintain up with the competitors, VW is hiring a chief designer after his success at Audi and Bentley.
VW hires a brand new chief designer to steer EV efforts
Andreas Mindt is ready to take over the reins because the Volkswagen model’s chief designer, changing Jozef Kaban.
Mindt is predicted to formally take over on February 1, in accordance with a report from Germany’s Automobilwoche. The transfer comes after Kaban failed to satisfy the board’s expectations.
For instance, Kaban was behind the preliminary VW ID.2 design, which was despatched again for revisions by CEO Thomas Shafer. He was additionally despatched a draft again of the corporate’s Venture Trinity, the VW EV sedan that’s imagined to set new requirements in vary, charging velocity, and digitalization.
Kaban labored for varied VW manufacturers from 2003 to 2017 earlier than taking a hiatus to work for BMW, returning as VW’s chief designer in July 2020.
VW’s new chief designer, Mindt, was tasked with main the design language for Bentley’s electrical future in March 2021. Earlier than that, Mindt spent 25 years with the VW group in varied roles, together with head of Exterior Design for Audi, the place he oversaw the launch of its first electrical automobile, the Audi e-tron.
Mindt will now play a essential function in defining Volkswagen’s electrical future. VW delivered round 330,000 items (+23.5% YOY) of its high-flying ID.4 in 2022 and over 580,000 ID fashions since launching the primary ID.3 in 2020.
The automaker has not too long ago teased an upgraded ID.3 anticipated to launch this 12 months and launched a prototype of its new EV sedan, the ID.7. The brand new EV sedan is a part of VW’s plans to supply an entire electrical lineup with ten fashions anticipated to launch by 2026.
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Electrek’s Take
The electrical period is changing into more and more aggressive, with startups and legacy automakers preventing for his or her share of the market.
To stay aggressive, the design will play a essential function. Tesla continues seeing “unprecedented demand” because it continues breaking gross sales data. Hyundai and Kia are attracting new consumers with daring, sporty-looking fashions just like the IONIQ 5 and EV6. Polestar is one other model with enticing designs, just like the Polestar 3, that continues to defy expectations.
The place will VW slot in with all these up-and-coming manufacturers? The corporate hopes its new chief designer will assist lead VW into the brand new EV period.
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