Posted on 5-08-2008 by Vlad Balan
Leave your comment Category: Mazda, News, Tesla
Last week, on July 31, Franz von Holzhausen resigned his position as Mazda’s head of design at Mazda North American Operations and is now in charge at Tesla Motors. Von Holzhausen, which has an impressive resume, has been with Mazda since 2005 and Holzhausen is responsible for Mazda’s series of great concepts, which include the Ryuga, Hakaze, Taiki and Furai. Before working for Mazda, he was the one that designed the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Sky for GM and he also had an instrumental involvement in the New Beetle concept project for VW.
At Tesla Motors, he will be in charge with two new projects, the Tesla Model S (a $60,000 electric sedan) and a new affordable electric car, priced below $30,000. The decision to hire von Holzhausen is a part of Tesla’s plan to move design in house (the Tesla Roadster was designed by Lotus). Franz told CarDesignNews that “It’s going to be an exciting adventure […] I’m looking forward to working at a new startup company that doesn’t have the confines of a large OEM.”
Via Motor Authority
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