It's almost back to basics for Gilles Vidal. After five years at Renault, where he was poached in 2020 by Luca de Meo, the iconic PSA designer returns to the PSA fold. Stellantis. He has just been appointed Design Director for the Group's European brands, effective October 1, 2025, succeeding Jean-Pierre Ploué, who is leaving the company.
This decision, made official on July 25, marks a strategic turning point for Stellantis Group design in Europe. It is one of a series of recent moves in the company's upper echelons, following the appointment of a new CEO, Antonio Filosa, and the reorganization of brand management. Design is no exception: Ralph Gilles is now Director of Global Design, and Gilles Vidal will take charge of styling for the European brands, from Citroën to Fiat, including Peugeot, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Maserati, Opel and DS.
A long-standing talent
Gilles Vidal is no stranger to PSA, now Stellantis. He joined Citroën in 1996, and has been responsible for Peugeot's styling strategy for over two decades. Peugeot owes him the lines of the 208, 308 and 3008, all hailed with the European Car of the Year award between 2015 and 2019. A total of ten major awards, including five "Car of the Year" titles, mark his career.
In 2020, he leaves the Group to join Renault, as part of a major renewal of the management team led by Luca de Meo. Here again, he makes his mark by helping to redefine Renault design.
Back to Stellantis
But in 2025, it's back to Stellantis. He will work closely with Ralph Gilles, his American counterpart, and report directly to Jean-Philippe Imparato, Director of European Operations.
His "deep understanding of European automotive culture and forward-looking design vision will be essential as we continue to redefine mobility and strengthen the identity of our European brands".
Ralph Gilles agrees, hailing him as a "first-rate design expert". Gilles Vidal's arrival is seen as a major asset in strengthening the stylistic coherence of the Group's brands in Europe, at a time when design is more than ever a lever for differentiation.
Jean-Pierre Ploué's career comes to an end
This appointment also sounds like the end of an era: Jean-Pierre Ploué is leaving Stellantis for good, a month after uncertainties emerged about his future within the Group. Initially, his position seemed to have been maintained within the structure managed by Jean-Philippe Imparato, and even extended to include Maserati, but in the end Gilles Vidal took over.
Many people thanked him for his key role in the renaissance of several of the Group's brands, notably DS and Citroën. His departure, however, leaves open the question of his next destination.
A new stylistic era ahead?
Gilles Vidal, for his part, said he was "enthusiastic" about the challenge:
"In a world where technology and design must move forward together to transform the customer experience, I'm motivated by the challenges and opportunities ahead. I look forward to meeting them alongside Jean-Philippe, Ralph and their teams."
With this appointment, Stellantis confirms its ambition to impose a strong stylistic signature on its European brands and assert their singularity, at a time when shared platforms tend to standardize ranges. It remains to be seen which models will bear the Vidal hallmark.
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This is excellent news.
Frankly, the design of the last creations was not good, with bad proportions.
Good news at last
Yes. Good news for them. Bad news for Renault.
So we're finally getting rid of Ploué in order to... take over a former PSA employee?
But why is the design of Stellantis' European brands always entrusted to PSA alumni and never to FCA?
Klauss Busse and Ralph Gilles are still with us! You'd have to go back to the Fiat Spa era otherwise... but they're retired 😂
And that's it. It's disturbing all the same.
Why systematically bring in people from Citroën or Peugeot (brands which, it has to be said, have not shone for their design in recent decades) when there are (or were) some very good people at Alfa Romeo?
Frankly, firing Ploué was necessary (Imparato should go too), but if it's to put Vidal in...
Stellantis, it looks like a sketch :/
I think you're being hard on Vidal. He's one of the biggest names in world design. He really has nothing to prove. His name is recognized the world over, and he's in great demand. When he was head of the Peugeot Design Lab (now Stellantis Design Lab), Airbus turned to him to design the H160, while Alstom turned to him for the Citadis tramway. And there are many more projects to come.
He changed Peugeot's clumsy image for dynamic cars at the time. The same goes for Renault. His return is more than welcome.
I think he brought a tuning side to Peugeot, but never managed to give it real elegance.
After all, there's Alfa Romeo and Maserati to contend with. So why systematically deny an ex-FCA a chance?
Obviously, I'm confining myself to the automotive sector.
Maybe it's because FCA only has shitty people in charge of design? Apart from the 500, what else is successful at Fiat? At Alfa, we've been revolving around the style inaugurated by the 156 for 20 years, with increasingly heavy-handed variations like the current Stelvio, which looks like a German panzer like the Cayenne. For an Alfa, I expect something different. The Junior is a sketch, as is the Ypsilon. In short, it's all about tastes and colors, but outside the clan of Italian fanboys, you rarely hear good reviews of their current style.
Das Opel Design, aller Modelle, ist sehr gut und wertvoll.......
We need a design manager for the French brands and another for the Italian brands, and we need to work with Pininfarina again, even if it's not the Pininfarina of yesteryear.
But why? The most beautiful Peugeots were designed by an Italian. And it was an American who sculpted the most beautiful BMWs. It's ridiculous to stop at one nationality for design.
I couldn't agree more. What's more, not all the most beautiful Italian cars were designed by Italians. The original Fiat 124 Spider and the De Tomaso Pantera, for example, were designed by an American, Tom Tjaarda.
Yes, the problem isn't so much the nationality (although it is), but rather the "school". The PSA school has never made much of an impression with its design, but rather with its lack of reliability. Even more so in the last decade, with photocopies ranging from bland to putrid, PureToc, BlueHDI and Takata... So it would be nice to give someone from the FCA school a chance.
Dav's post doesn't talk about nationalities, but about the designers assigned to each country. And why? Because it's vital for the group's survival that the Italian brands come out with cars that immediately evoke Italy and the brands' specific history, just as Jeep comes out with Jeeps, especially at a time when platforms and components are being pooled.
Finally some good news from Stellantis? JPP was rightly hailed for his remarkable work at Citroën, but that didn't stop him from validating certain horrors at Lancia and DS.
Exactly.
I always find the PSA side over-represented in Stellantis. When, let's be honest, logic would have it the other way around (better engines, better reliability, real design, in short, real work for the FCA side).
Erste Handlung: das (innere) Design wird dahingehend geändert, dass der Zahnriemen außerhalb des Ölbads läuft. Zahnriemen im Öl war bisher eine der dümmsten Konstruktionen, für die einige "Ingenieure" saftige Prämien kassiert haben.
See you in 4-5 years then to see the real influence of the new. By then, I think some of the group's brands will be gone.
Mr. Ploué's departure makes sense when you see the results, particularly with Italian brands! Of course, there's no denying his talent in past decades, but it was probably time to move in a different stylistic direction. The arrival of Gilles VIDAL seems to me to be good news, without any real surprises, particularly with the Italians back in the driver's seat. See you in 2 or 3 years for the new design. Fingers crossed for Alfa! 🍀 🤞
Peugeot's design, especially the front end with the fangs as a light signature, is so ugly. Alfa Romeos shouldn't lose a large part of their charm, a rather exceptional and timeless design. One designer for all the Stellantis brands is hard to understand.
Designers impose their own style, and look at what's become of BMWs, where each new model is uglier than the previous one it replaces.
It's a safe bet that some brands (DS, Maserati, Lancia, Opel...) will be gone or sold in a few years' time! 😉
But I'll join you in the meantime! 14 brands and 1 single Design Manager, that's a lot, especially if you want to avoid the copy-paste dear to the cynical ex-cost-killer and gravedigger of STELLANTIS!