PARIS -- Peugeot has named Matthias Hossann as design director, replacing 10-year veteran Gilles Vidal, who was responsible for the design of top-selling models such as the 2008, 3008 and 5008 SUVs, the latest-generation 208 small car and 508 midsize fastback and station wagon.
Hossann, 40, is currently head of concept vehicles at Peugeot, a post he took up in 2013. He joined PSA Group in 2002 as a Citroen exterior designer. In 2008, he joined the Citroen/DS design studio in Shanghai, China, where he worked until 2013.
His most recent project was the E-Legend, an electric coupe that recalled the Pininfarina-styled Peugeot 504 Coupe from the 1970s.
Hossann was also responsible for the preliminary design of the new 208 and 2008.
Vidal joined PSA Group in 1996 and worked in design at Citroen and led the group’s concept vehicles team.
He was named head of design at Peugeot in 2010.
PSA did not give an explanation for his departure. Under Vidal, Peugeot revised its lineup with a sharper-edged design aesthetic, including repositioning the 3008 and 5008 from minivans to SUVs.
Hossann will start in his new post on Tuesday. He will report to PSA design director Jean Pierre Ploué.
