Bentley Motors has appointed Andreas Mindt as Director of Design, commencing March 1. 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.

Mindt will report to Dr Matthias Rabe, Bentley’s Board Member for Engineering.

Rabe comments: “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.

“I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Stefan for the significant contribution he has made to the business in his near six-year period, and wish him all the very best for the future.”

Klaus Zyciora, Head of Volkswagen Group Design, said: “Bentley is a global brand with a long history and a strong design presence. We want to visibly continue this history in the age of automotive change. Stefan Sielaff set the course by evolving the design language. I would like to thank him for that. Andreas Mindt is the ideal person to be the new Director of Bentley Design. He has been responsible for the exterior design of all showcars and production models of Audi, including the new luxury class and the first fully electric models. Andreas Mindt will now play a critical role in shaping the future of Bentley.”

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 the first experience of Bentley designing the exterior of the iconic 1999 show car, 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.

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.”