Will Mercedes’ New Design Chief Change Things Up?

Mercedes-Benz Group has a new chief design officer, Bastian Baudy. Does that mean we should expect big changes from the German automaker?

Baudy succeeds Gorden Wagener, who left Mercedes Jan. 31 after nearly 30 years with the company. His stamp is on many of the cars on the road today and will continue to be through the end of the decade.

Baudy took over February 1 and while he is still getting his feet wet in the top job, we wanted to know if a new look or set of priorities is coming.

Nothing drastic, says Ola Källenius, chairman of the board of management for Mercedes-Benz Group. “For a brand like Mercedes, especially with the pedigree that we have, you need to carry some kind of a red thread throughout the generations of vehicles.” Baudy knows that thread. He joined Mercedes in 2001 and was most recently head of design at Mercedes-AMG.

But modern luxury also has a zeitgeist, Källenius says, and you have to anticipate what that zeitgeist is going to look like.

“We have just started a new design era at Mercedes,” Källenius says, starting with the
Mercedes-Benz GLC Electric that has a high-tech digital version of the honeycomb grille. “When you see the car, especially at night when it is lit with all the LEDs, it is unmistakably Mercedes.”

Brand Recognition Is Important

That is important. The CEO says when he walks through auto shows in China, there are many cars he does not recognize and if you take away the brand, he definitely would not know what they are. “But I guarantee you most people will recognize this Mercedes style that we have just embarked on. That will carry. You don’t do that for five minutes and then you stop. It will carry for some years.”

Baudy is a “great guy and full of ideas,” Källenius told media in Finland gathered for a media drive of the new 2027 Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The CEO said he talked to Baudy on the way to the airport that day, reflecting on sketches he was shown at a meeting day before. “He showed me his first thoughts about what the next generation would
look like.” Big smile, no details.

Källenius was asked for his thoughts on the increasing number of gimmicks in cars as technology, software, and AI play an ever-increasing role in generating features. “The philosophy must be you should not do technology for the sake of technology. Do technology for the sake of humans,” he said. “It is the only guiding star you need. If it is going to make your life safer, more convenient, happier, more connected—whatever it is that makes your life better—that is the guiding star.”