Geely appoints Bentley’s former design chief Stefan Sielaff

Geely Auto Group has appointed former Bentley design chief Stefan Sielaff as its vice president of Global Design. Sielaff succeeds Peter Horbury who now joins Group Lotus, which is also a car brand under Geely, as senior vice president of design.

Stefan Sielaff

Sielaff’s move to Geely has been going around the rumor mill since early this year. Last January 2021, Sielaff left his post as Bentley’s head of design, which is a role he has held for almost six years. A spokesperson of the British automaker previously said that Sielaff left his position to “pursue other career opportunities outside Bentley and the Volkswagen Group.”  

Sielaff brings over 30 years of car design experience to Geely. He will oversee the Geely Auto Group portfolio of brands including Geely Auto, Lynk & Co, and Geometry. The Chinese car brand added that Sielaff will support the development of premium EV brand, Zeekr. 

Geely Holding Group President and CEO of Zeekr Technology Andy An Conghui believes that Sielaff’s vast experience will further push Geely’s design. 

“At the same time we also warmly welcome Stefan Sielaff to the Geely family, we believe that his years of design experience will further enhance Geely Auto Group portfolio of brands with the ultimate goal of providing the best products to consumers,” said An Conghui.  

Sielaff brings over 30 years of car design experience to Geely 

Born in Munich, Germany, the 59-year-old designer studied at the Royal College of Art in London. Sielaff has previously worked at design studios at Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen Group. In 2015, Stefan became the Director of Design for Bentley Motors.

Some of his popular car designs include the Audi quattro Spyder concept, Audi A1, and Audi A7, and the Mercedes-Benz CLS. He is also responsible for the design language of the Bentayga, and the redesigned Continental GT.     

Peter Horbury

Sielaff replaces Horbury who first joined Geely Auto Group in 2011 as Executive Vice President of Design where he created the Geely 3.0 era of products. Horbury was also able to support the development of Lynk & Co, Geometry, and Zeekr brands by creating the car brand’s global design network in Sweden, Spain, China, and the United States. 

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