VW design chief de Silva to retire

Chief executive Matthias Mueller said: “Walter de Silva succeeded in establishing a design culture and methodology across all Group brands that is unique in our industry”.

Volkswagen has confirmed that the group’s design director for the last seven years, Walter de Silva, will retire at the end of November. De Silva will continue his links with VW Group in an advisory capacity, the statement said. He then moved to Audi where he created the single frame grille to give brand’s cars a standout design from BMW and Mercedes-Benz rivals.

However, whether or not de Silva, a close confidant of former VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn, will actually be replaced full time is likely up for debate itself as VW looks to trim costs in the fallout of emissions scandal. The latter model, in particular, holds a special place in his heart as he has called it the “most attractive car” he has ever designed. The native of Lecco, Italy, is also credited with the design of the Alfa 156 while working for Alfa Romeo in the 1990s.

Since early 2007 he has been in charge of design for all VW Group brands, including the luxury marques Audi and Bentley and mass-market brands VW, Skoda and Seat.

His retirement from the German automaker may have been influenced by the company’s recent troubles caused by a recently revealed emissions testing cheat code that was installed in up to 11 million cars with the EA189 diesel engine.

As part of the changes, the company has halted work on non-essential projects.