After months of reflection, the Renault Group has found a successor for Gilles Vidal, who, in July, following several changes in the company’s management structure, left the helm of the design of the French manufacturer to return to Stellantis, his starting point” – he joined Citroën in 1996 and led the style center of Peugeot from 2010 to 2020, a period during which he contributed to the launch of several commercially successful models. Now, he takes on a key position in the company, overseeing the design departments of the European brands of the Italian-French conglomerate, which has around fifteen manufacturers, including Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, and Fiat.
The successor to the 53-year-old Frenchman, while the highest authority on style for the Gallic consortium, is his compatriot Alexander Malval, 55 years old, who is also returning to a place he knows well, as it is where he started his career in 1995. He will begin his duties on January 2, 2026, as the design director solely for Renault, working under Laurens van den Acker, the design director for the entire group (his predecessor, from July 2020 to July this year, held the same position, which was anything but irrelevant, as he was directly involved in the modernization process of the range, a mission that required, for example, the creation of a new identity that would support both the electrification plan and the launch of various iconic models, such as the R4, the R5, and the Twingo, all featuring E-TECH Electric technology).
Graduated from the Royal College of Art in London, England, Alexander Malval joined Renault in 1994, moved to the VW Group in 1996, and to PSA in 2001 (within the French consortium, he worked at Citroën and Peugeot). Finally, in 2018, he transferred to Mercedes-Benz, to work as managing director and head of the International Design Center in Europe, a division of the star brand based in Sophia Antipolis, France.
At the German brand, the French designer worked on many projects, including the design of mass-production cars for AMG, Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, and smart. “The resume speaks for itself. He has experience with top manufacturers, knows the industry well, and has more than enough knowledge to support us in achieving the next stage of our plan,” stated Laurens van den Acker.
