Marc Lichte (54) was head of design for ten years Audi. The manager is now handing over his position to Massimo Frascella (52) on June 1st. Lichte is now taking on new tasks in the company, as Audi announced on Thursday.
Lichte was considered one of the top designers at Volkswagen. He won many prizes for his design language in the company, which was considered progressive and timeless. He began his professional career with the group in 1996 while studying at Pforzheim University. There he rose to head of the design exterior studio and worked on series models such as the VW Golf, the VW Passat, the VW Touareg and the VW Arteon.
From 2014, Lichte finally served as head of design at Audi, ushering in the next phase of electric and combustion engine models at the company. During Lichte’s tenure at Audi, new generations of series bestsellers were created as well as the brand’s first independent electric series – the Audi E-Tron, the E-Tron GT and the Q4 model family. The luxury sedan Audi A8 and the sports cars RS 6 and RS Q8 also bear his signature.
Farewell under Döllner
“Marc Lichte and his team shaped the evolution of brand design into the age of e-mobility. We would like to thank Marc for being the creative mind and source of inspiration for the face of the brand for a decade,” says Audi boss Gernot Döllner (55) as he bids farewell.
The CEO wants to make Audi number one and at least be on par with them in terms of technology BMW, Mercedes and electrical benchmark Tesla. The company should set the trends again. He dismisses the three million cars sold as targeted by Döllner’s predecessors as unrealistic. But he wants to reach well over two million in the next three or four years and thus make Audi the most profitable premium manufacturer and achieve an operating return of 13 percent in the medium term. However, the new boss has Shortly after taking office and with careful calculation, he alienated many of his managers.
Design anchored with board
Now Lichte is another manager under Döllner. His successor Frascella started his career at Stile Bertone, the Ford Motor Company and Kia. Since 2011, the manager has held senior positions for Jaguar Land Rover most recently as head of design for both brands. “I believe in the emotional power of design to inspire, connect and drive change. And I’m here to drive creativity as part of the brand’s core,” he says.
With the new head of design, the company is trying to set the course for the future generations of Audi models. In the coming years the company faces numerous challenges, which, according to Audi, will also “significantly change the shape and function of all series segments”. That’s why the company recently anchored its design department organizationally directly with the chairman of the board.