Automobili Pininfarina Appoints Board of Directors to Launch Luxury Car Portfolio

• Automobili Pininfarina announces new members of its Board of Directors, brought together from the world’s premier automotive brands
• CEO Michael Perschke to outline sustainable, luxury electric vehicle business and product strategy with prospective clients, retailer partners and media in New York
• Automobili Pininfarina to reveal PF0 concept design images ahead of private client viewings of the all-electric ultra-luxury hypercar during Monterey Car Week in August 2018

(Munich, 10 July 2018): Automobili Pininfarina is the world’s newest car brand, with a plan to sustainably develop and produce fully-electric, ultra-luxury cars at the pinnacle of design and desirability in their respective segments. The Munich-based company now announces the appointment of a new and experienced senior management team as it prepares to present its business and product plans to prospective retailer partners, clients and media in New York this week.

Michael Perschke, Automobili Pininfarina CEO said: “Automobili Pininfarina is a pioneering new business created to service the most discerning clients in the world. Our product portfolio will launch with an innovative, zero-emissions hypercar that represents the progression we aim to make at the pinnacle of the luxury and sports car market.”

Automobili Pininfarina will offer a range of extremely luxurious and high-performance EV cars designed and built in a close partnership with Pininfarina SpA, the legendary Italian automotive styling house. The first of those is codenamed PF0 and will be an ultra-low volume, ultra-luxurious fully-electric hypercar.

With ongoing technical collaboration with the multi-race winning Mahindra Racing Formula E team, Michael Perschke and the ambitious new Automobili Pininfarina management team will deliver a range of vehicles offering design purity, emotional appeal and innovative EV technology to customers worldwide. In less than two years, Perschke and his team will present the first customer with a car of unmatched performance and unprecedented heritage.

“We have attracted some of the best automotive industry talent from all corners of the globe. Now this team is completely focussed on delivering ground-breaking, highly desirable vehicles through a business strategy which will see Automobili Pininfarina become the most sustainable luxury automotive business in the world”, said Perschke.

This exciting and unique opportunity to create a new brand with unparalleled heritage has tempted some significant talent to move to Munich with experience from brands such as Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ferrari, Jaguar Land Rover, Maserati, McLaren Automotive and Volvo.

AUTOMOBILI PININFARINA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michael Perschke – Chief Executive Officer
An experienced senior executive with over 20 years of automotive management roles for premium car brands in Europe and India with a recent focus on innovation, connected car and EV solutions. With close ties to the Mahindra Group, Automobili Pininfarina’s parent company and Pininfarina SpA’s majority shareholder, he is ideally suited to bring together the strengths these partners provide in technology, design, development and manufacturing.

Following a thorough recruitment programme that started in 2017 prioritising significant global experience in luxury, super-luxury, performance and connected-car sectors, Michael has been joined by experienced automotive executives including:

Per Svantesson – Chief Operating Officer
Per Svantesson is a seasoned international business leader who has held top level management and board positions in a number of large, global, industrial corporations including Volvo, Valeo and ESAB. He combines this experience with many years as a serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Having worked with creating efficiency and profitability in global industrial organisations Per has in-depth expertise in the management of international M&A activities as well as the methods of lean manufacturing. Per is also a truly customer-driven sales executive with a sharp set of tools in business-to-business marketing and sales.

Dan Connell – Chief Brand Officer
Dan joins Automobili Pininfarina from Jaguar Land Rover, where he was responsible most recently for leading delivery of the global Marketing Communications and PR strategy behind the successful new Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) and Classic business divisions. Previously Dan has occupied Public Relations roles at Volkswagen, MINI and McLaren Automotive. Dan now leads a new team at Automobili Pininfarina responsible for global brand strategy, marketing communications PR and experiential programmes.

Luca Borgogno – Design Director
With over 14 years’ experience as one of Pininfarina’s leading designers, Luca introduced early PF0 dreams to potential clients and retail partners in Rome. Now in New York, ahead of the city’s Formula E street race, he will present PF0 design images to potential owners, retail partners and media. These will be in private sessions during the Formula E race weekend programme from July 1215, ahead of hosting private VIP viewings of PF0 during Monterey Car Week in August.

Anika Rose – Human Resources Director
Anika joins Automobili Pininfarina after nearly seven years in senior Human Resources roles at Kongsberg Automotive in Munich, where she was Head of HR Services for Central Europe. Prior to that Anika worked as an HR professional in some of the world’s leading global brands across hospitality and leisure. Kongsberg Automotive is a world-leading automotive parts supplier, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland and with production facilities around the globe. 

Marcus Korbach – Sales Director
Marcus joins Automobili Pininfarina from Bugatti S.A.S where he represented the luxury performance car brand as their Regional Managing Director for Middle East and Asia.  In that role he managed all brand, sales and network activities whilst also contributing to the launch strategy of the Bugatti Chiron. Prior to Bugatti, Marcus worked for McLaren Automotive during its launch phase as McLaren Special Operations Sales Manager and Sales Manager for the McLaren P1 – the world’s first hybrid supercar.

Paolo Dellacha – Product and Platform Director
Paolo is responsible for the product definition and development plan of the future range of Automobili Pininfarina sustainable luxury electric cars, with a key focus on defining vehicle technology to meet the desires of the world’s most discerning customers. Prior to joining Automobili Pininfarina, he spent nearly two decades in computer-aided engineering: specifically, testing, engineering and design roles at Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo. After starting as a vehicle dynamics professional, Paolo lead complete new vehicle development programmes and was most recently appointed Director of Vehicle Concept and Architecture of Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Paolo is a published author of automotive technical papers and was part of the team that secured drivetrain and chassis patents for Ferrari.