Xpeng appointed JuanMa Lopez as vice president of design center, saying he will drive the evolution and upgrade of the company's design style.

Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) welcomes a European design veteran with experience working for Chinese car companies on board as it seeks design breakthroughs.

Former Genesis Design Europe head JuanMa Lopez has joined Xpeng as vice president of design center, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker said in a statement today.

Lopez, who had also served as head of exterior design at Ferrari, head of interior design at Lamborghini, and interior designer at Audi Group, will help the company build central operating mechanisms and decisions to drive business change, Xpeng said.

Xpeng will start a strong product cycle in the third quarter and will accelerate its expansion in overseas markets, it said, adding that the addition of Lopez, a top international designer, is important for the company's strategy, including enhancing the competitiveness of its product design and accelerating its globalization process.

Lopez has 24 years of industrial design experience, having led the design of the Lamborghini Gallardo Spider, and participated in the design of models including the Ferrari SF90 Stradale and Monza SP, as well as the Audi Avantissmo, Audi A4, and Audi quattro concept.

He has two stints with Chinese automakers, including one at BYD from November 2018 to December 2020, and Changan Automobile from December 2020 to October 2022.

The booming automotive industry in China attracted Lopez, and BYD was his first stop in the country, serving as BYD's global exterior design director at the time, according to Xpeng.

During his time there, Lopez led the exterior design of the BYD E-Seed GT concept car, which ushered in a new design language for future models of the BYD brand, the statement noted.

The insight into cutting-edge design that Lopez possesses will drive the evolution and upgrading of Xpeng's design style, prompting the company to open up new design possibilities with a sense of luxury, it said.

His international perspective will merge with Xpeng's styling team and help the company build an international automotive design team, it said.

The addition of Lopez appears to be part of Xpeng's preparation for the launch of more models in the next few years.

Xpeng is confident that it would be more efficient in launching more competitive models globally, leading the way to widespread adoption of AI autonomous vehicles, the company's management said in a May 21 earnings call.

Starting in the third quarter of this year, Xpeng will begin a robust product cycle of launching several new models over a three-year period, covering the RMB 100,000 ($13,800) to RMB 400,000 market, its management said.

The first model of Xpeng's sub-brand, codenamed Mona, will be unveiled in June and will go on sale and begin deliveries in the third quarter, and the company believes the Mona model will be a superstar product in the A-class pure electric market, according to the company.

The Xpeng brand will begin deliveries of an all-new B-class all-electric sedan in the fourth quarter of this year as the first model to reach its 25 percent technology cost reduction target, according to the call.

The company is confident that it would achieve significant year-on-year monthly sales growth in the fourth quarter of this year, with the help of that model and the Mona model, Xpeng management said.

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