Volkswagen group appoints Michael Mauer as the new Design chief

MANILA: Volkswagen group has announced the name of their new design chief for the coming year 2016. Michael Mauer is likely to take the position as the new VW design chief in the first quarter of 2016. He will take place of the retired Group designer Walter de Silva who retired from the position last November. The company found Mauer suitable for this position by looking to his outstanding service in the automotive industry since 1986. Mauer's personally designed cars have gone through big success in their times.

Michael Mauer started his career in the automotive industry with Mercedes-Benz in 1986 and held many positions until 2000. He designed many valuable cars like Mercedes-Benz SLK, SL, A-Class, and other smart cars. In 2003, he got appointed into Advanced Design Department of General Motors in Europe. Presently, he is working as Head of the Design Department in Porsche.

The 53-year old automobile designer will continue his work with Porsche along with heading the new post in Volkswagen. He is working for Porsche since 2004 and designed prominent Porsche models like 918 Spyder, Panamera, and 2007 Cayenne.

Company CEO, Matthias Mueller stated that, “The new appointment of the group design head will speed up the decision taking process and increase the efficiency. The board of management will now focus on making profitable strategies for the future.”

Mueller added that the company will continue the restructuring and work on developing new strategies that will benefit the company in the coming days. VW has also reduced the number of some top managers that reported directly to the CEO. The company is also trying to balance the loss that it suffered due to the diesel-gate scandal and now aims to increase the productivity.

Recommended: The Sixth-generation 2018 Volkswagen Polo rendering