Photo: NIO
Chinese EV maker NIO has announced it appointed two new senior members of its design team. While they do not have household names, each comes from a reputable automaker. With the two new members, NIO wants to have four design studios around the globe to work on its global range.
Starting October 1st, Joaquin Garcia and Alister Whelan will be a part of the NIO design team. They will both report to Kris Tomasson, the vice president of NIO's design department. The two senior designers will join Colin Phipps (former GM designer) and Andreas Nilsson (from Geely), another pair of designers hired by the Chinese company.
Unlike Chris Bangle or Frank Stephenson, the names of the latest additions to NIO's design team may not be known to all petrolheads, but that does not minimize their experience. Joaquin Garcia has joined the Chinese brand after a five-year stint at Seat and Cupra, where he was the lead exterior designer for all production and show cars.
Garcia joined the VW Group in 2010, and he previously worked in other European automakers (Skoda, Ford, and Renault) in their centers in Cologne, Valencia, and Paris. He stated that it is an exciting moment to join Neo and contribute to the next generation of the brand's cars. Garcia also stated that he appreciated NIO's design philosophy and identity, Car Design News reports.
Meanwhile, the second new team member in the design department is Alister Whelan. You may recognize his name if you appreciated the interior of the Jaguar I-Pace, but also the cockpit of the F-Pace and the F-Type. What makes the move even more interesting is that Whelan had been with Jaguar Land Rover for 21 years, almost the same as Julian Thomson, another former Jaguar designer who left the company earlier this year.
NIO has recently launched their ES8 SUV on the European market, and they will offer a sedan called ET7 starting next year. With that in mind, NIO has a five-model range now, but the company must already plan its next steps, so it makes sense to hire new designers to spearhead the development of new models.
Unlike Chris Bangle or Frank Stephenson, the names of the latest additions to NIO's design team may not be known to all petrolheads, but that does not minimize their experience. Joaquin Garcia has joined the Chinese brand after a five-year stint at Seat and Cupra, where he was the lead exterior designer for all production and show cars.
Garcia joined the VW Group in 2010, and he previously worked in other European automakers (Skoda, Ford, and Renault) in their centers in Cologne, Valencia, and Paris. He stated that it is an exciting moment to join Neo and contribute to the next generation of the brand's cars. Garcia also stated that he appreciated NIO's design philosophy and identity, Car Design News reports.
Meanwhile, the second new team member in the design department is Alister Whelan. You may recognize his name if you appreciated the interior of the Jaguar I-Pace, but also the cockpit of the F-Pace and the F-Type. What makes the move even more interesting is that Whelan had been with Jaguar Land Rover for 21 years, almost the same as Julian Thomson, another former Jaguar designer who left the company earlier this year.
NIO has recently launched their ES8 SUV on the European market, and they will offer a sedan called ET7 starting next year. With that in mind, NIO has a five-model range now, but the company must already plan its next steps, so it makes sense to hire new designers to spearhead the development of new models.
Google News