T. Jon Mayer takes over exterior design at Volvo; Missoni Moves exclusively to Polestar

In a move that further emphasises the distinction between the Volvo and Polestar brands, T. Jon Mayer has been named vice-president of exterior design for Volvo cars. Maximilian Missoni, meanwhile, who previously split duties between that role and head of Polestar design, will now focus exclusively on the latter.

“Working under one roof for Volvo and Polestar we will continue to collaborate as one team and benefit from working efficiencies, but ensure we create an even stronger identity for each brand. T. Jon’s new role is an important part of this future strategy,” Volvo senior vice-president of design Robin Page told CDN in an exclusive interview. Mayer reports to Page, while Missoni answers directly to Thomas Ingenlath, who, while most often touted as Polestar’s CEO, remains the Chief Design Officer for Volvo Car Group and oversees design efforts for both brands.

“It’s a natural progression for Max to move full time to Polestar as we continue our journey as a company,” Ingenlath explained to CDN. “His design leadership has set the tone at Polestar. Over the years, Max, T. Jon, Robin and I have become a team that has established an amazing ability to think alike and work creatively together, gaining excellence in design that would be hard for an individual to match. That is an incredible asset for Volvo Cars and for Polestar. Of course, we will continue to collaborate in this new constellation with great care for brand individuality and a renewed focus.”

Mayer, a graduate of Art Center College of Design, began his career at Volvo in 2011 after more than five years with Ford in Dearborn, MI. Before moving back to Volvo’s HQ in Gothenburg last year, he served a stint heading up the brand’s satellite studio in Camarillo, California. His designs include the stunning 2013 Concept Coupe which spawned the Polestar 1 and S60 production cars, as well as the 2014 Concept Estate, which inspired the current-generation V60. Recently, he joined us for CDN’s Car Design Dialogues along with Page and other Volvo designers.

“I am extremely excited for the future of exterior design at Volvo,” Mayer told us. “There’s an incredible amount of challenges facing exterior design, but we have one of the most talented teams of designers in the world and I will rely heavily on them to create a new vision for our electrified future.”

Missoni spent a decade at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg and Potdsam after attending Royal College of Art and was hired by Volvo in 2012 as chief exterior designer. In a recent social media post, Missoni wrote, “I feel proud of what we have achieved. Volvo just had its best quarter in history, and we established a successful design direction and identity for the brand and launched a complete generation of cars. …Two years ago, I took on the additional responsibility as head of design for Polestar. Now I feel this incredible growth needs my full attention and after 2 [sic] years of having two jobs I decided it’s time to focus and dedicate even more energy to making Polestar the EV brand of the future.”

The “new” Polestar established itself from the beginning as an electrified nameplate, and Volvo has made ambitious plans to follow. In March of this year, CEO Håkan Samuelsson announced Volvo would begin phasing out combustion (and hybrid) powertrains and go all-electric by 2030. We saw the first fruits of those labours not long ago in the form of the C40 Recharge compact crossover. Volvo also plans to transition to an online sales model for EVs, while somehow maintaining its dealer network – a strategy that has left many confused, including, reportedly, some of its own dealers.

Also, earlier this year, Volvo abandoned plans to merge with sister company Geely but confirmed that they will “deepen” their collaboration to share powertrains, modular architecture, and autonomous drive technologies. Considering some of the killer designs Volvo and Polestar have been churning out lately, we look forward to seeing what’s next.