Thomas Ingenlath has returned to his old role as chief designer at Volvo, nine years after leaving the Swedish brand to run its EV sibling Polestar.
Ingenlath originally became Volvo's lead designer in 2012. In his five-year tenure in that role, he was responsible for a complete stylistic overhaul that defined the look of crucial models including the XC90, V90 and XC40.
The German also designed the future-looking Concept Coupé (below) and Concept 40.2, which would go on to become the Polestar 1 and Polestar 2 respectively.
In 2017, he was named the CEO of Polestar ahead of it being hived off from Volvo and operating as a car maker in its own right.
He managed Polestar – and continued to play an influential role in its design strategy – for seven years, expanding its portfolio with the introduction of the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 crossovers and strengthening its global retail footing with commercial launches in 27 markets.
After leaving Polestar, he was named a design advisor for the wider Geely group, but is now returning to Volvo to lead the design of its next-generation line-up, following the departure of Jeremy Offer.
Volvo said Ingenlath's appointment as chief design officer (his previous title was senior vice-president of design) "marks the return of one of the most influential designers in the company’s recent history and reinforces Volvo Cars’ leadership in design".
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Also Polestar 1 and 2 look great.
What doesn't work is the new Volvo EV design language which has lost its uniqueness and look generic and bland.
Great news, his design language shows he understands the Swedish term of 'lagom' which more or less means just right. The cars he designed still look fresh today. Can't wait to see what he has in store.