As Bentley prepares to be an electric-only brand by 2030, its design direction will guided by a new man: Andreas Mindt, currently the head of exterior design at sister brand Audi.
Mindt was appointed overnight after Bentley announced the immediate departure of Stefan Sielaff, its design chief for the past five years, who has left “to pursue other opportunities”.
According to Automobilwoche, Sielaff (pictured above) will soon be joining Geely where he will take over from Peter Horbury.
If the report is true, Sielaff could be in the charge of the design direction for all of Geely’s brands, including Volvo, Polestar, Lynk & Co, LEVC, Proton and Lotus.
Sielaff started at the Volkswagen Group in 1990. He worked his way up from an interior designer at Audi to become the luxury marque’s director of design and then the head of the Volkswagen Group’s design centre in Potsdam, Germany.
In 2015 he succeeded Luc Donckerwolke as Bentley’s design chief, who had left to head up the design department for Hyundai’s newly minted Genesis luxury marque. He is currently the chief creative officer for the entire Hyundai Motor Group.
Andreas Mindt
Mindt will take over Bentley’s design department on March 1.
A Volkswagen Group lifer, Mindt joined the automaker over 25 years ago, working at the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.
His first experience designing for Bentley came in 1999 when he helped to shape the exterior of the Hunaudières concept car.
Mindt has spent the last decade at Audi, and is credited with overseeing the design for the Q8 crossover coupe, as well as the E-Tron electric crossover.
Bentley Hunaudieres concept 
According to Dr Matthias Rabe, Bentley’s head of engineering, Mindt is “perfectly placed to help us achieve our ambitions as the leader in sustainable luxury mobility” because of his “creative experience in progressive electric car design delivery, and passion for Bentley and the Volkswagen Group”.
