Andreas Mindt, the new Design Director of VW, will take on responsibility for this area across all brands of the German conglomerate starting March 1, 2026. He succeeds Michael Mauer, who is leaving the company in a “friendly” manner, after also transferring his responsibilities at Porsche to Tobias Sühlmann (formerly of McLaren).
“Mauer marked an era at Porsche. As Design Director of the VW Group, he also established a distinctive and differentiating design for each brand in the consortium, providing us with a future direction and ensuring greater recognition, with very well-defined identities and products. He shaped our style,” said Oliver Blume, CEO of the German “giant.” “The brands developed their DNA and defined their positions individually. Their products are iconic and authentically and emotionally reflect their origins, offering what our customers worldwide expect from us,” explained the same executive, who also highlighted the importance of this transition phase. Adding: “I am looking forward to working more closely with Mindt. His personal journey with the brand and the experience he has accumulated have made a significant positive impact in a very short time. He played a key role in ensuring that our cars were once again recognized as VW.”
Graduated in Design from the University of Pforzheim, Germany, Andreas Mindt began his career at the largest European car manufacturer in 1996. By 2014, he had held several positions at the group’s most important brand, working, for example, on the design of the first generation of the Tiguan and on the image of the seventh generation Golf. From 2014 to 2021, he led the plan for the reorganization of Audi’s exterior design, intervening in the development of projects from the A1 to the e-tron GT, and from the Q3 to the Q8. Starting in 2021, at Bentley, he redefined the stylistic language of the Crewe brand, presented last summer in the Batur. Mindt has been at the helm of the creative direction of VW’s passenger car division since February 2023.
