New chapter of the Opel brand?
Uwe Hochgeschurtz, CEO Renault Germany, Austria and Switzerland, has been named Opel Brand CEO from September 1, 2021. The latest move from Stellantis comes at a time when German brand is attempting to grow in China as the conglomerate is attempting to survive the electrification era. He succeeds Michael Lohscheller who “has decided to pursue a new challenge outside Stellantis.”
Uwe Hochgeschurtz will join the Top Executive Team of Stellantis and will report directly to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. He started his career in the automotive industry in 1990 at Ford, before joining VW in 2001 and Renault in 2004. He studied business administration in Germany (Wuppertal & Cologne), the UK (Birmingham) and France (Paris Dauphine).
“I would like to warmly thank Michael for having established strong sustainable foundations for Opel together with the employees. This impressive turnaround paves the way for the forthcoming worldwide commercial development of the brand. I am convinced that Uwe will successfully drive this new chapter of the Opel brand, thanks to his more than 30 years of automotive commercial experience. I wish Michael all the best for his next career step,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
Stellantis today (23 July 2021 release -editor) announced the creation of ‘Stellantis Design Studio’, a creative agency that will provide global brand design services across a broad range of companies, from transportation to industrial, manufacturing and tertiary businesses. The Stellantis Design Studio will build on the Peugeot Design Lab expertise and expand it to the Company’s portfolio of brands, such as Maserati, Jeep, DS Automobiles, and Lancia. Stellantis Design Studio will connect its network of clients with its iconic brands and move beyond design consultancy by defining inter-company design partnerships.
Klaus Busse and Arnault Gournac will join forces to lead Stellantis Design Studio:
• Klaus Busse oversees Maserati, Jeep in Europe and Stellantis Design Studio as Head of Design and leads the strategic development of the Studio expanding to the Company’s brands. Busse will contribute his experience in luxury brands to widen the scope of expression of Stellantis design.
“The success story and expertise of Peugeot Design Lab is unrivalled,” said Busse. “The extension of this know-how to all of our brands opens up incomparable perspectives.”
• Arnault Gournac, Director of Peugeot Design Lab and Cycles Peugeot, led the Studio expansion to support Stellantis globally. In line with his strong management and transformative leadership at Decathlon design, Orange Labs and Carrefour Group innovation, he serves as Creative Director for the Stellantis Design Studio’s evolution and its international development.
“Looking back on our brand portfolio, Stellantis designers have created some of the most exciting and visually appealing vehicles in automotive history,” said Gournac. “We plan to take that creative energy and offer our key competencies to our global external partners to help them take their brand and design projects to the next level. We will work to expand our reach by fostering new partnerships with global clients from all horizons.”
The new studio capitalizes on the Peugeot Design Lab’s nine years of experience and more than 120 collaborations with prestigious customers and partners, such as Airbus Helicopter, Alstom, Bombardier, Bénéteau Groupe, Zodiac, Haier Group, the F.I.A. Whirlpool, Gillardeau Oysters and Pleyel.
Peugeot Design Lab continues its development within Stellantis Design Studio to address all projects beyond automotive for the Peugeot brand and reinforce key partners and projects. Stellantis Design Studio will progressively expand this expertise to all Stellantis brands and pursue global design consultancy for all external clients, offering possible activations with its internal brands or remain in full non-disclosure.