The chief designer of LADA brand left AVTOVAZ

In early June, AVTOVAZ left several high-ranking foreign managers. This happened after Renault abandoned its stake in the Russian company, and Maxim Sokolov became the new head of AVTOVAZ. Among those who left was Vice President for Design Jean-Philippe Salard, who is, in fact, the chief designer of the LADA brand.

The French specialist came to Togliatti in January 2021, by replacing Steve Mattin, who worked in Russia for ten years and came up with the modern style of the LADA brand. Recall that Jean-Philippe Salar, born in 1973, joins the AVTOVAZ team from the position of Design Director of Renault Group in Eastern Europe (office in Bucharest, Romania), where he was responsible for developing the design of the entire Dacia line (Duster, new Sandero, new Logan, including Arkana for Russia). From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Salar led the Renault Samsung Motors design team in Korea, and from 2008 to 2013, he was in charge of the Renault design center in Mumbai, India.

In Russia, Jean-Philippe Salar did not have time to implement a single project: the last premieres of Lada, restylings of Largus and Vesta, were created under Steve Mattin. Valery Frolov was appointed Acting Vice President for Design. As the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Denis Manturov, who headed the board of directors of AVTOVAZ, said earlier, new LADA products will be developed, also in Russian platforms using Russian engineering competencies, as well as with the maximum involvement of Russian component suppliers - this is a fundamental decision.