Jose Carlos Pavone will now be responsible for the design of vehicles headed to North and South America.
VW believes the distinction between its vehicles sold on different markets will help it appeal to local buyers.
VW Group wants to have a 10% market share in North America by the end of the decade.
While most automakers strive to make their vehicles as similar as possible in every market, Volkswagen embraces diversity by naming a new design chief for North and South America.
Jose Carlos Pavone, a designer credited with the appearance of vehicles such as the sixth-generation Jetta and the last generation of the North American Passat, will now oversee the design of each model the company will offer in the Americas.
Instead of coming up with designs that can be sold around the world with only small modifications, VW chose to offer vehicles that have been tailored to the market they will be offered in.
While the first method saves money and development time for automakers, the second can result in vehicles that have a stronger appeal in the market they are aimed at.
This is what the automaker is relying upon in order to increase its market share to 10% in North America by 2030.
Pavone was chosen due to his experience working for VW’s design on three continents and his ability to integrate new technologies such as virtual reality as part of the design process.
The new design chief started his career at Volkswagen 21 years ago and since then, he has worked in Germany, California, and Brazil on vehicles made for each local market.
Before being appointed as design chief for the North and South American regions, Pavone directed work on the Taigo, a compact crossover that is the first vehicle designed in Brazil and produced in Europe.
According to the new design Chief, this varied career gave him a better understanding of the preferences and requirements of each region.
While Volkswagen vehicles will be tailored to each local market, the company also wants them to keep some of its traditional attributes, which is why the Americas studio will work together with the German headquarters on new models.
It will be interesting to see if this strategy works out for Volkswagen over the rest of the decade.
