Audi hires away chief designer from Jaguar Land Rover

MUNICH: German luxury carmaker Audi has hired away the current chief designer at British competitor Jaguar Land Rover, Massimo Frascella, the company announced today.

In June, Frascella will succeed current Audi chief designer Marc Lichte.

Audi is a subsidiary of German automotive giant Volkswagen, while Jaguar Land Rover is owned by Indian automaker Tata Motors.

Frascella, 52, studied at the Turin Design Institute and began his career at Italian industrial design firm Bertone before working at Ford, Kia and the Land Rover brands.

He described his passion as simplicity and "design without superfluous ornamentation."

"And I'm here to drive creativity as part of the brand essence," Frascella said.

The automotive industry is expecting fundamental changes in design as vehicles become increasingly autonomous. Audi recently placed its design department directly under the firm's chief executive.

Lichte will remain with Audi but take on new tasks, the company said.

The 55-year-old German started at Volkswagen in 1996 and has been the chief designer for Audi since February 2014.

He described the Audi e-tron Gran Tourismo, launched in 2021, as "the most beautiful car (he has) ever had the pleasure of designing."