Ingenlath back at Volvo as Chief Design Officer
Big boss of Polestar didn't work out; now Thomas Ingenlath is back where he made his design name
It wasn’t so long ago that Volvos were fairly nondescript family-focused machines, great at getting the job done but hardly objects of true desire. There were some handsome saloons, wagons and SUVs made, though nothing properly covetable. How things have changed; we can all debate when exactly that happened, but the important thing is that these days Volvo has one of the most suave line-ups around.
We’d say it began with the second XC90, introduced in 2014 and still stylishly soldiering on to this day; that was designed by Thomas Ingenlath, who it’s now been announced will return to Volvo as Chief Design Officer. Which should excite Volvo fans and, to be frank, those who just enjoy great-looking cars: as well as the XC90, the German was responsible for the smaller XC40, the fabulous-looking S90 and V90 duo, plus the VW XL1, original Skoda Yeti and first Skoda Superb in a previous life. While it was still part of Volvo, Polestar had Ingenlath pen the 1 and 2 also. In their own way, all are great bits of automotive design; he knows what he’s doing with the crayons, does Ingenlath, and obviously knows Volvo well also.
Truth be told he’s never been very far away; his most recent work was as a design advisor to Geely, which owns Volvo and part of Polestar, where he was CEO from 2017 to 2024. Ingenlath replaces Nicholas Gronenthal, who will now go on to be Volvo’s Head of Design Americas. He added: “I am delighted to be returning to Volvo Cars. Design is fundamental to what Volvo stands for. I look forward to working closely with the teams across the company, developing cars that are distinct, relevant and true to the Volvo brand.”
What exactly those will be obviously isn’t clear for the moment, though Volvo has pledged to be ‘net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.’ Which will obviously require a whole heap of new EVs, hopefully not all of them SUVs. Just imagine what a Polestar 1-style car could be with a pure electric powertrain. No doubt Ingenlath has some ideas of what’s to come, which we’ll be very keen to see. This is the man who made the Volvo estate sexy, after all - any design job after that will be a breeze…
I really like the design of my Polestar 2, I think it's handsome and confident without being overwrought or aggressive like too many modern cars. With the XL-1 and Yeti in his back catalogue, it shows how Mr Ingenlath can take on some of the most unpromising briefs - economy car, crossover for brands with limited design heritage of beauty - and deliver a car whose design becomes a reason for customers to choose it over alternatives. A skill that Volvo can't really afford to be without, as powertrains become less distinctive and new brands crowd into the market.
The interesting question is whither Polestar? A company created to take the Volvo chief designer's concept cars and put them on the road, now said designer has returned to the mother company. The idea of a more sporting Volvo has value IMHO, but I think would work better as AMG is to Merc, rather than a whole separate company with its own showrooms.
All Polestar and Volvo cars have standard door mirrors...
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