The Volkswagen brand will get a new design chief, following rumors that the brand’s new CEO is unimpressed with Jozef Kaban’s work. The designer will be replaced by Andreas Mindt, according to insiders, who will leave his position at Bentley to take the role.
A report from Automobilwoche says that the change will take place on February 1, citing unnamed sources within VW’s corporate circles. Kaban apparently failed to impress VW brand CEO Thomas Schäfer and the board with his work on the ID.2 city car, which was previewed with the ID. LIFE concept, and it will reportedly be up to Mindt to revise the design.
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Kaban came to Volkswagen from BMW in 2020, though he worked at various Volkswagen Group brands between 2003 and 2017. The designer will become the third ex-BMW employee to leave his role, following the exits of former CEO Herbert Diess and Murat Aksel, who acted as purchasing director.
Indeed, the Volkswagen brand is going through something of an upheaval in terms of designers. In December, Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume sacked Klaus Zyciora as head of design for the group, replacing him with Porsche’s Michael Maurer.
Naturally, Kaban’s departure will have knockdown effects. With Mindt set to replace him, his role at Bentley will be filled by Tobias Sühlmann. Currently the head of exterior design in Crewe, the move should be a comfortable one for the man who has been with the British company since 2021, having previously worked at Bugatti.
Kaban, though, will not be fired. Reports suggest that executives are not displeased enough with his work to part ways completely, but will instead give him a new task within the organization. What that role will be, though, is not yet clear.
