Volkswagen, Audi veteran Andreas Mindt joins Bentley Motors to lead design

Bentley Motors has announced the appointment of Andreas Mindt as Director of Design, effective March 1, 2021. He succeeds Stefan Sielaff who has left the company after nearly six years to pursue other opportunities. With more than 25 years of automotive design experience, all within the Volkswagen Group, Mindt was most recently Head of Exterior Design for Audi. In this six-year period, he oversaw the exterior design evolution of the breadth of the Audi model range, and the launch of the premium SUV coupé, the Audi Q8, and the e-tron, Audi’s very first full-electric production model.   

Sielaff’s successor has a long and established Volkswagen Group history.  Prior to Mindt’s time with Audi, he spent over 15 years as a key part of the Volkswagen design department at the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg. Here, he worked on leading projects for a number of Group brands and a first experience of Bentley designing the exterior of the iconic 1999 showcar, the Bentley Hunaudières. Working at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, UK, Mindt will lead a team of approximately 50 design experts with responsibility for the exterior, interior and colour and trim design for the full current and future Bentley product portfolio, concept and showcars. 

Mindt will report to Dr Matthias Rabe, Bentley’s Board Member for Engineering. Commenting on the appointment, Rabe said, “I am pleased to welcome Andreas to Bentley and look forward to working closely with him at such a critical, yet exciting time for the business. The hard work starts now as we accelerate our journey to full electrification by 2030. With Andreas’ creative experience in progressive electric car design delivery, and passion for Bentley and the Volkswagen Group, he is perfectly placed to help us achieve our ambitions as the leader in sustainable luxury mobility.

Commenting on his new role, Andreas Mindt said, “Bentley is a jewel within the Volkswagen Group. Designing a car, and a future, is always a process based on the performance of many, not one, and so I look forward to working with my colleagues to help define the next phase for Bentley, into an electrified future.”